Unity Series: Book One: The Weavers of Fate
by StikLover2
Summary: It has been two years since the fall of Gaea. Life continues, but at what cost? The camps are at peace, demigods come and go, and a new start is occurring for the Seven and friends. Beware; ancient enemies, more powerful than Gaea, are stirring. Night is falling, and the world will turn. What will it really cost for true peace? Follow the continuing journeys of the Seven!
1. I: Annabeth

***November 13, 2014 Chapter Re-Edit. I've reedited this chapter. Please do reread it. Like I said, I would reedit the chapters mentioned sometime. Chapters 2-4, and 9 are up for reedit shortly.**

**Please do reread this chapter if you have read it before. **

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***Original Notes:**

**Hey all! This is StikLover2 reporting in! Who here has seen Blood of Olympus? I have! I liked it, but the lack of Percy and Annabeth chapters worried me greatly. Overall, the book was AWESOME, as Uncle Rick could make it ;D. Also, that REALLY cheesy ending with Gaea's defeat, bleh. She went down WAYYY too easy. Anyway, I know we are all upset over the end of Percy Jackson... But that's why I'm here! I want to continue the Heroes of Olympus Saga in my own way! I have plenty of time on my hands, and plan to create many series continuing the adventures of the Seven. This will be following canon, since I wish this to be a continuity. With dozens more primordials and enemies for the Seven to face, there's plenty for me to write about!**

**Also, I would like to state this is my VERY FIRST time ever writing on fanfiction, and in public as well. I ask you all to be patient, and I appreciate reviews commentating me on how to write better! I would love that! **

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick Riordian... (Do we really have to say this in every chapter?)**

_**Also, I added this as T, because I'm not sure how the story is going to go... I could be wrong though, just let me know! I'm quite nervous, so just let me know if I've gotten characters wrong and so on, this is my first time ever, as I stated earlier. Now, without further ado, the story of the Seven, plus friends! I thought you all were quite deprived from a lack of Percy/Annabeth chapters, so without further ado...  
**_

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**I: Annabeth**

**Annabeth really hated books,** which was new, considering she was supposed to be the all-wise daughter of Athena. But no, that spider just HAD to jump out of that book she was reading over the works of Sophocles, giving her a heart attack. With a shriek, she swatted the spider with the book. The satisfying _skhhh_ of spider grease did little to calm her nerves. Annabeth always did like books though, it gave her an escape to a world, previously unknown. Just the thought made her smile.

It was a warm day in New Athens, and she was curled up in the villa she shared with Percy. They were planning to move to New Rome next week, after Percy had finished up loose ends here in New York. It had been two years since the defeat of Gaea, and demigods Roman and Greek alike were enjoying life. Well, besides the usual apocalyptic ending of the world, things were going pretty well.

Annabeth's mind wandered back to her boyfriend, that handsome son of Poseidon... Well, now fiance to be exact. And now the most important person in Annabeth's life. _Oh Percy..._ She and Percy had come so far, from the depths of the underworld, to the defeat of the Earth Mother, Gaea, two years prior. Now, they were living in New Athens, capital of the modern Greek world.

New Athens was beautiful, with various lush, green gardens and colorful decorations dotting the landscape. From the window, Annabeth could see various streets, including the newly erected Temple Street, which was in charge of Jason, of course. Their _pontifex maximus_ was always busy working with the various architects and builders to erect more temples to various gods and goddesses in both camps. Power to the people! Or totally eternal immortals, whichever worked better.

Temple Street was decorated with so many different designs, each corresponding to a specific god or goddess. Moros, Oizys, that Kym girl, you name it. Gilded shrines all overlapped each other in harmony and peace. Apparently all these shrines made the gods happy. After all, they still haven't tried to incinerate anyone in months, really. Well, except for that time in Rio, but whatever.

Jason was_ soooooooo_ busy these days, doing stuff and whatever. Considering angry immortals were complaining to him often, Annabeth thought he was doing his job pretty well. He always did have time for Piper though, and it was a surprise he still hadn't gotten the nerve to propose to her yet. It was obvious they loved each other, and that just had to make Annabeth smile. At least it wasn't so bad in public; Capture the Flag was where it started getting annoying.

The Seven had always been close, more so after the loss of Leo.

_Leo..._ Annabeth thought. The hero who sacrificed himself to defeat Gaea, ensuring a future for the world. That aside, both camps were enjoying a prosperity of peace following Gaea's defeat, with more demigods and legacies joining every day.

Camp Half-Blood had expanded as well to meet all the new accommodations, and peace reigned upon all the land.

Man, she was reading WAY too many literacy works these days.

But enough was never enough for Annabeth, she was a daughter of Athena after all! Her publishing business on the side was turning out a surprisingly large amount of drachmas. Who knew demigods loved to write? True enough it was weird, but still nice. Athenian Architecture INC. was taking off, with Annabeth at the helm. Well, not literally on the helm of a-, well, whatever.

Annabeth's mind wandered to other places. With a shudder, she reflected on the horrible experiences she had in the era of the Giant War. Visions of Percy's mutilated, broken corpse, rushed through her mind. _Burn, pain, death_, all echoed through her conscious. With a shudder, she barely stifled a shriek. Tartarus had changed her, as well as Percy. The memories of the burning pit, as well as Bob and Damasen, hit her like a brick.

It was hard for her to fight these dying nightmares, but thankfully she had the consolation that they didn't exist... Right? It was basically like an eidolon or something, always behind you, whispering and watching. Annabeth jumped off the couch, and walked into the kitchen. The whole thing was messy, all thanks to that intense party last night. Stifling a groan, Annabeth knew she was going to have to clean it all. Eh, maybe later.

Picking up a rag, Annabeth attempted cleaning up the countertop, and failing especially at that. Who said cleaning wasn't her forte? The granite countertops shuddered under the wet rag, with a "sh sh" sound. Groaning, Annabeth clutched her head. The memories of _that place_ still hadn't left Annabeth's mind, rushing through her like the course of a stream. Dang, being around her fiance was giving her one water pun too many.

That place had caused her many sleepless nights, but having Percy there did help. Annabeth loved him with all her heart, he was her only window to retain her sanity in this world. She was willing to die for Percy. Although she was pretty sure that already happened a few times. The poison knife, empousai, Kerkopes, you name it really. Ah, the things you do for true love. Sure, these things are screwy, but still worth it.

Chucking the rag over the counter, Annabeth decided to hop outside. Visiting the Athena Parthenos didn't seem like a bad idea at the moment. With a yawn, Annabeth stretched and walked out of the door of her humble adobe. It had been designed by her of course, along with nearly every building in New Athens. Buildings to last forever! Something permanent, as she had always dreamed. With a quick tap on her door, emboldened with a trident and owl entwined together, Annabeth set off.

She was hoping to meet Percy at the acropolis after his sword lessons. Even though he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she had to agree, he was certainly awesome when it came to combat instruction. Yes, Annabeth knew she said awesome, but whatever. It was too nice of a day anyway, the least she could do is take a break from all that braininess.

The bright sun hit her, blinding her eyes. The city of New Athens greeted her. The birds were flying and the nymphs were singing. Annabeth was thankful she didn't have to encounter man-eating birds yet again. That experience was one time too many. The smell of various bakeries and flower shops wafted down her nose. There was so much peace; the demigods strolling down the various alleys and roadways looked SO happy. Annabeth really wished it could stay like this forever. Double-checking that her hair was tightly wrapped in a bun, she started jogging at a brisk pace down Olivian Avenue, with carefree thoughts in her mind.

Stretching across the horizon was the shrine of the Athena Parthenos, restored back to its rightful place. Especially after Reyna returned with it, it was partying up an whole street by itself. Not to mention it was well-guarded with several phalanxes of demigods rotating on shifts. Sure, it might be overkill, but you can never be too safe!

Athena Parthenos shined with all its glory as Annabeth walked up the steps of the shrine. It wasn't too far from her house, only maybe a block or so. Gilded columns racked the one-hundred feet long structure, with steps gliding up to the statue itself. It glowed bright golden, with whispering voices protruding from it. Annabeth felt a swell of pride, it better have been worth it since she plunged into Tartarus for that statue.

The dark god was torturous, trying to break her mind. What was even worse was his promise of revenge, whispering cries of vengeance. Percy wasn't far off from that, considering they actually had to get counseling or something. Sure, it was kind of cheesy, but hey, it helped. Sometimes, Annabeth would hear her mother's voice coming from the Parthenos, reassuring her. Well, sure she lived on top of a giant building not far away, but still.

Even on the blackest nights, the statue glowed with hope and promise for a better future. That's what Reyna supposedly said when Annabeth spoke to her last week. Their newly-finished villa in New Rome was rocking pretty sweet. Apparently one year wasn't enough for Percy to finish up here in New York. Guaranteed most of the time was spent visiting Sally. Okay, a lot of the time. Senior year wasn't too bad really, your usual annoying mortals, but nothing a few punches to the face couldn't solve.

The statue seemed to glow with a snort, most probably patting Annabeth on the back if it could. Or Athena could take control of it, who knew? Shrugging it off, Annabeth backed out of the shrine, back into the streets of New Athens. Eh, she would go wherever she needed to go. Basically, random stuff and all. Whistling to herself, Annabeth turned her wandering mind to some complex math equations she was meaning to solve.

Unfortunately, that wandering mind failed to notice an impending collision. _Wam!_ Annabeth collided into the side of Piper, who coincidentally happened to be jogging across the pavement as well.

"Annabeth!" exclaimed Piper. "Percy, h-he, need-needs you!"

Annabeth felt compelled to obey, showing that Piper was worried, considering her charmspeak really didn't come out all that much these days.

"Calm down Pipes, I was just going over to see him!" stated Annabeth.

In her mind, Annabeth was worried about what could possibly be going on. Commotions were rare in New Athens these days, since doomsday has occurred more times than anyone else could care to count. But hey, everyone needs some spice in their life. Her stormy, gray eyes just turned a shade darker. Ah, the joys of being an all-powerful demigod, it's a no-brainer.

With a rush, she and Piper ran down to the acropolis, swerving in and out of countless vendors, ignoring the curses of mixed Greek and Roman dialect. They could hear rising voices coming from the acropolis on the horizon. Annabeth had designed New Athens to incorporate much of what lay in the original Athens. It did help they conveniently happened to stay there during their "World is Ending" themed vacation. But hey, demigods can't be beggars. Annabeth noticed several phalanxes of Greek demigods assembling in formation, also rushing toward the acropolis.

To say in general, everyone was panicking. What could possibly make hundreds of well armed Greeks start running around like crazy demons? "Back up!" yelled one of the vendors, hightailing his cart out of there like a cyclops chasing after fresh demigod meat.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Annabeth was not expecting what lay before her as she and Piper entered the acropolis. Its marbled columns stretched high in the air, and it's whitewashed floors was subject to a rampage. Since the acropolis was typically a highly defended area in the ancient Greek world, the citizens of New Athens opted to have it's self-defense classes there. A mixture of symbols and training weapons littered the various racks and shelves scattered around. The Greek phalanxes were alert, standing guard at the various turrets, windows, and just about every opening possible. Again, overkill!

Basically, Annabeth thought they were just there to show off sometimes. A huge crowd of demigods and legacies in battle armor was surrounding a boy Annabeth recognized as a son of Eros in the middle of the acropolis. What was his name again? Na- something.

The odd thing though, was this demigod was motionless, staring with an unblinking gaze at the sky. The really odd thing was he was shaking, like a coma patient doing the conga. Annabeth recognized her fiance and several daughters of Apollo surrounding the lone son of Eros, turned into a mentally deranged Mexican siesta. The children of Apollo quickly rushed the demigod out of the acropolis, as a uneasy crowd watched on.

Instantly, Annabeth's mind turned to every possible explanation of what could be occurring here. Poison? Knife? Arson? It was practically impossible to sneak something like that in an area as well guarded as, well, here. Annabeth had a feeling she was going to need to brush up on her CSI and Castle. Sure, assault cases weren't her forte, but hey, with practice comes experience! That, and the credit hours she was sure she would be earning.

"Percy! What in the name of Olympus is going on?!" shouted Annabeth.

"I don't know Annabeth... one second he was doing sword exercises with several kids from Nike! The next, he drops dead and starts shaking around like a demented Mexican!"

Even Annabeth had to smirk, Percy always did add some humor to the worst of situations.

"Alright! Class dismissed! Everyone go home!" bellowed Percy.

With a grumble, the crowd dispersed from the training grounds. A look of fear passed a lot of them, and Annabeth could feel the sentiment. She swore she would wring the neck of whoever the living Mother Rhea was doing this. But then again, the children of love were really annoying, but probably not the best thing to say right now to a flopping demigod that Annabeth didn't even know. Annabeth walked up to Percy and wrapped her arms around his taunt, lean frame.

"Urgh, what now Seaweed Brain?" grumbled Annabeth. Percy frowned, then a smile appeared on his face.

"Well, we could see Mom!" smirked Percy.

"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth playfully slapped Percy's arm, but not without a smirk as well.

"Owww, that hurt!" whined Percy, unleashing his baby-seal eyes.

"We saw her yesterday, and the Monday before that," growled Annabeth.

"There's no time like the present!" said Percy, pumping his fist.

Annabeth stared in his sea-green, puppy eyes. Three years of being together, and the guy was still oblivious! Her will weakened, and she smashed her lips onto Percy's with no warning. Surprised, he deepened the kiss, gripping her hair with his hands. Annabeth felt bliss- she could do this for hours! What Annabeth didn't notice was the shadows slowly crawling toward them though...

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**Hope you liked! Stay tuned for another chapter! Expect fairly constant updates, due to the good amount of time I have on my hands. **

**Remember, REVIEW, AND POST! I would love to hear you all!**


	2. II: Annabeth

***Cackle, thank you guys for the positive reviews so far! I've been pleased with the results coming from my first story! Your words touched me, and yes, I intend to follow this all the way through and beyond! I am still new at writing on fanfiction, however, so just let me know if any parts seem rusty! I really appreciate what all of you have said! And first of all, I noticed some of you have been asking about Leo! Well, just stay tuned and stick with me. You never know, just wait and see! I promise your effort will be rewarded! On more notes, the format of the story is going to follow as:**

**-4 chapter blocks before switching to each narrator.**

**-Size of each chapter will probably stand as it is, it makes the format easy for me to remember, and gives you guys reliable content each time. **

**Thanks alot guys! Your quick reviews gave me the motivation to create another chapter in the matter of a couple of hours! Enjoy!**

**Ooo, almost forgot: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick Riordian! Or as we know him, Uncle Rick, or as we further know him as, the biggest troll the world has know! His cliffhangers are crazy!**

**Without further ado... Here ya go!**

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**II. Annabeth**

**What Annabeth didn't expect was a second heart attack that day.** Her gaze rested upon a certain son of Hades protruding from the shadows. With a start, she jumped up, her hair no longer the tight bun it was several minutes ago, or was it hours? She couldn't really tell. She felt kind of giddy too. Was this new? Probably. Percy fumbled for his sword, Riptide, and failing miserably at that. His Seaweed-Braininess just had to make Annabeth snicker.

"Gee, PDA much?" stated Nico. Annabeth noticed Nico seemed happier than he was these days. His long, black, and shaggy hair rested just shy of his shoulders, and his Stygian iron sword at his side. Also, there was a gauntlet attached to his hand, a gift from Hades after the Giant War, allowing Nico to control armies of the dead. Great, now all-powerful dead people could conga-dance at his command.

It was insanely useful to him since, well, the Scepter of Diocletian was probably a dusty ghoul in the underworld by now. Emblazoned within the middle of the gauntlet was a pure black stone, with ancient text of the dead protruding from it. As usual, Nico was dressed in nothing but black, that much hadn't changed.

"Gee, no warning Nico?" grumbled Percy. Nico peeked through his covered hands, and muttered several curses in Greek.

"Seventeen minutes, that was a new record guys," he stated. Annabeth blushed. PDA wasn't her strongest thing, considering loosing track of time was happening way too often. But then again, what PDA didn't lose track of time? You didn't need an all-wise Athenian daughter to know that. Nico shuffled uncomfortably, looking like he had something to share. Urgh, secrets these days! Whatever. At least it wasn't about a potential world-ending event..., hopefully.

"So, Nico...," Percy butted in, "What brings you to interrupt my dedicated alone time with my wonderful fiancee?" sarcastically, of course. Annabeth just had to roll her eyes at that.

"Yeah, yeah," drawled Nico, "Chiron told me to bring you guys, it's about the guy from Eros!"

Annabeth's mind wandered back to what occurred earlier in the day, that son of Eros convulsing on the floor... The mental image was enough to make her shudder.

As she was about to answer, Percy butted in. "Is he alright?"

"He's dead," bluntly stated Nico. "He reeks of death!"

Nico looked shaken up by it. Well, he shouldn't be or something, since he was the son of Hades, lord over death and master of all. The title was a bit much, but Hades insisted, especially since he was on the Olympian council, and enjoying every second of it. But that Eros dude, dead?

That was enough to make Annabeth's eyes widen, this was definitely not a common occurrence in New Athens. Well, besides the usual crashing of immortals for Olympian parties (these were LEGENDARY, by the way). She turned her gaze to Percy, and the look in his eyes were the same: _let's go_.

"Gee, look away for five seconds lovebirds," eye-rolled Nico. He still looked uncomfortable, probably in more ways than one.

Hanging around dead people in his funeral company would be fun for sons of Hades, but apparently not then.

"Grab on!" shouted Nico.

Reluctantly, Annabeth grabbed on to Nico's hand, and prepared to enter the realm of shadows, which were NOT her favorite thing, by the way.

Annabeth made a mental note to bring a night-light with her every time they shadow traveled. In case people hadn't noticed, not exactly the most fun thing to do. It certainly wouldn't make Annabeth's top ten list of things she wanted to do most in the world. Well, besides the fact of literally defeating the world itself. She felt the shadows dissolve, and opened her eyes to the _agora_ of New Athens.

The open plaza in the center was occupied by many figures, and the whitewashed columns surrounded the majority of the enclosed areas. Olive trees surrounded the assembly, with an open, large table in the middle. Why there had to be an open table in the middle of a plaza, Annabeth had to groan at that. She would rather people ask Chiron about that. His taste in music was FAR worse than other things he had also suggested.

Reveling in the massive architectural detail adorning the assembly, Annabeth felt proud of herself; she did design all this after all. Chiron was there, muttering to Hazel in the corner. She noticed all the seven were assembled, minus _Leo... as_ well as the various cabin heads, doing many things. Talking, arm wrestling, making out, you name it. That last one was pretty high up on her list of things to do right now, though. Leo drifted through her mind momentarily, but Annabeth pushed it away; it brought out too many painful memories.

Thumping his cane, Chiron brought the meeting to attention.

"As you know, demigods, Nathan, son of Eros, was found dead today," Chiron stated.

The mood of most of the cabin heads dissolved into misery, like a slump in Of Mice and... _Okay, getting off topic here_, thought Annabeth. She was brought out of her thoughts by the surprisingly stern voice of Nico.

"The odd thing Chiron, it was almost as if he radiated fear," drawled Nico. "Not your usual underworld drop-dead kind of fear, a fear from within..."

Chiron had to frown at this; it looked as if he was thinking elaborately.

"This seems familiar...," said a surprising voice. Annabeth turned to see Will Solace, son of Apollo, muttering these words.

"There was a story, if I remember, about this being who could radiate fear on a scale of never before," he said.

Annabeth had to think; where did that come from?

"Sadly," Will butted in, "I can't remember the details, it's too hazy..."

Nico patted Will on the back with a reassuring look. Annabeth noticed the son of Apollo eyeing Nico carefully. Was there something Nico wasn't telling her? She wasn't sure.

Percy wrapped his strong arms, his lips caressing Annabeth's neck. "It'll be okay," he whispered.

Annabeth wanted to believe it; that they could finally get a semblance of peace. But no, the Fates just LOVED screwing with their lives. She was pretty sure "Misfit Demigods" was the number one television show on Olympus right now.

Chiron interrupted, "We all forget things Will, just try to remember," he said with a smile.

Will nodded sternly, lost in his thoughts.

Hazel interrupted with a surprised voice, "This sounds familiar, this is from the underworld!"

This caught the attention of all demigods in the _agora_, and immediately turned the attention of Frank. He wrapped an arm comfortably around Hazel, motioning her to continue.

"I remember seeing a malevolent being, when I was well, dead..." Hazel gulped. "I didn't see many things as a ghost myself... But... even I could sense his or her's presence here... As to what it was doing, I don't know..."

Nico butted in, "But this being couldn't have come from the realm of the dead! Even Moros and the others' power cannot surpass that kind of level!"

"Under the underworld then," suggested Hazel.

This shut up everyone in the room. Annabeth instantly knew what she was talking about... No, it can't be! Fear started radiating through her, and she noticed Percy going pale. But no, it couldn't be.. something bigger had to be at play here. This wasn't the work of Tartarus, she knew that much.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Annabeth really hated feeling amnesic at times. Information she needed was SO annoyingly out of her reach, just when she needed it most. She could have sworn there was a figure down there that could radiate the kind of fear they were looking for... But as usual she couldn't remember. Not like she would want to, anyway. She slipped back into consciousness, and into the worried face of surrounded demigods.

"Another flashback?" questioned a worried Piper.

Annabeth could do nothing but nod. She knew she wouldn't be the same after Tartarus, slipping in and out of her good sanity. Her only escape was Percy, keeping her sane.

Annabeth had to laugh bitterly, she was treated to the _De La Tartarus Resort_, while the others got an Extra-Large Deluxe can of monster-whooping. She wasn't really picky, but steering clear of the Tartarus resort was high on her list.

"Well, dismissed for today," said Chiron, "We'll talk more later, let Percy and Annabeth rest..."

The cabin heads immediately dispersed, heading back to their cabins to share the news.

Annabeth buried her face in Percy's shirt. "Can't we EVER get a break?" she groaned.

"Well Wise Girl, you know how it is; we're a Wipeout Course for the gods, they just love torturing us like one of those poltergeists..." grumbled the son of Poseidon.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Annabeth curled up in a bench just outside of the _agora_ with Percy; she needed a stress-reliever from her day. She just wanted ONE DAY from screaming goddesses who were demanding the end of the world. But apparently, she's the puke bucket of the Olympians.

"You okay Wise Girl?" questioned Percy, pulling her closer to him. Annabeth could feel the warmth radiating from his arms, and probably even warmer tonight, if things went okay. She smiled up at Percy,

"You have sauce on your lips Seaweed Brain," she smirked. "Let me clean that for you... ""

Or rather, I could blast him to shreds," butted in a new voice.

Annabeth had to groan. Lo and behold, stood Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of New Athens (Poseidon was NOT happy; he had a fit for weeks! On the bright side, tuna is plentiful in the Pacific right now!) was standing in front of the now blushing couple.

"Mother! What did I sa-" Annabeth's shout was interrupted by the raising of her mother's hands.

"Annabeth Chase, beware the broken ties of fate! The ancients stir!" And with that, she fizzed out of their visual plane.

The sudden and abrupt visit startled and unnerved Annabeth for a moment.

"Oh joy," groaned Annabeth. More warnings from her mother... it had been plaguing her for weeks now!

"Well, what's our life without some spice?" smirked Percy.

Annabeth felt obliged to shoot back with a snarky answer, if it wasn't for the explosion on Temple Street behind them.

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**Good cliffhanger? I hope it sufficed! *Cackle Remember, POST, READ, AND REVIEW! (PRR!) I should have another chapter up tomorrow! I really do have a lot of free time on my hands xD.**


	3. III: Annabeth

**Hello my little flyers! *Mahahhaha. I told you all I would have another chapter ready for you guys today :D. Our time with Annabeth is coming to a close soon, with only one more chapter left after we switch to another POV. You guys should guess in the comments what you think the next POV will be ;D. Like I said, expect my updates to be very constant, and it's working out quite nicely too! There'll be a bit of a shocker next chapter, with something revealed.. Guess what it is ;D. And no, it's not Leo.**

**Also to elaborate further, every remaining member of the seven will ALWAYS get a 4-block chapter of POV. There will be some chapters from the POV of some important people outside of the Seven, such as Nico, for example. My goal is to get at least 32 chapters for every single book in the various series continuing the Heroes of Olympus. It may probably be longer, depending on the direction each book will go, as well as the amount of narrators who get to share. Like I said, I'll always be constant and consistent here :D. The size chapters you are seeing is going to be the average chapter size for all my books. **

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus belongs to our special little guy... Rick Riordian!**

**This chapter will have a bit less of the usual humor in it, but to make up for it, there will be plenty of explosions ;D. So, without further ado... Here ya go! ;D**

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**III. Annabeth**

**Annabeth didn't expect to see a flying car hurtling toward her**. Well, it seemed to be more of an automaton, but still. She barely had time to gape before Percy shoved her away. The dozens of demigods milling around all ducked for cover just as the temple of Eris exploded. Various pieces of debris showered down on the previously clean-cut street, raining like cats and dogs.

That actually did occur last summer, don't ask. It was definitely one of Annabeth's weirder summers. She watched in horror as the explosion ripped through the _Tranquilion of Poseidon_. She worked hard on that!

Besides her, Percy shouted, "Hey! that was my dad's party place!"

Annabeth had to admit that Poseidon threw some pretty wild parties in there, now that he was allowed to visit. It had taken six months of annoying the Hades out of Zeus, but it was so worth it!

"Percy! Annabeth!" shouted Jason, running toward them. "What in the name of Zeus is-," thunder rumbled. "SHUT UP DAD, I don't have time for this!" bellowed Jason.

His orange and purple cloak, signifying his combined position as a _pontifex maximus_, was tattered and frayed. The thunder stopped, signifying that Zeus was probably letting this go. After all, this was pretty much an reenactment of doomsday. Annabeth peeled herself off the sidewalk, and chased after the already retreating figure of Jason.

"Jason, wait up!" she shouted.

Panting, she and Jason ran through the burning street of temples dedicated to the dead. Shattered obsidian and black glass littered the ground, and Annabeth was thankful she didn't run barefoot today.

"F-for some r-r-reason," Jason panted, "I'm getting reports of temples... more specifically, those of the underworld... And they're blowing up like a tactical nuke!"

Right then, an explosion ripped across one of the libraries on the block. Books everywhere blew off their awnings. Annabeth growled; whoever did this was going to PAY! The firefighter brigade of New Athens streaked past Annabeth and Jason, and started attempting to contain the fires. Seriously, building a city on the scale of New Athens, they would need a fire brigade!

A tremor rumbled across Temple Street, and stopped. In all, it really felt to Annabeth that she was dunked with a swirly from the toilet, then wringed through a _caramel latte_, which she LOVED, by the way. The chaos reminded Annabeth of the Fourth of July fireworks eight years ago, minus the Stolls blowing up half the Big House. On the bright side, their shrieking every time someone picked a grape from their leaves was music to Annabeth's ears. Too bad Annabeth didn't notice the column falling in their direction though.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Annabeth really thought she was dead. But then again, being dead doesn't warrant the bright blue glow standing in front of them. With a gape, Annabeth and Jason stood in front of the furious figure of Poseidon, smashing the column to bits.

"ANNABETH," Poseidon bellowed, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PARTY TIME?!"

"L-lord Poseidon, we're under attack, I think!" stated Annabeth.

"Well girlie, I can see that much!" "Behind you!"

Annabeth ducked as a sea-green beam from Poseidon's trident smashed through yet another falling column. Annabeth had to jerk Jason's wide-eyed figure away as Poseidon fended off further collapses.

"FIND PERCY!" Poseidon bellowed, "TELL HIM-," his voice was cut off by further rumbles.

The only other thing Annabeth heard from Poseidon would be something she would have to share later, not now...

"This way Jason! Cut across the _Plazebo Graecan_!" exclaimed Annabeth.

With a flick of his wrist, Jason grabbed Annabeth, and summoned the winds. They shot off toward the source of the explosion, toward the Plaza of the Dead. Annabeth felt as if she was in a wind tunnel, if a wind tunnel had bugs squashing in her teeth. She made a mental note to brush her teeth THOROUGHLY tonight. Assuming they lived, that is.

Jason firmly planted them in front of the temple of Hades, adorning the center of the plaza. Oddly enough, it was the only untouched building in the area. Annabeth noticed Percy, Nico, Piper, and Hazel, gathered around the entrance foyer of the temple of Hades, talking in hushed whispers. Where Frank was, Annabeth didn't know. He was probably-, the trumpet of a steamrolling elephant confirmed Annabeth's thoughts on what he was doing. Shrugging it off, she and Jason walked nearer to the assembled group. The temple of Hades always managed to creep out Annabeth, it was solidly black, with eternal flames adorning the walls, and skeletons of the dead protruding from the ground. It was almost as if they were begging to escape, crying out for the living.

As Annabeth entered the group, several mutters were heard. "-rworld in revolt, -epy -ight com-," muttered Nico.

"What about the ghouls?" butted in Hazel.

Piper was the first to notice Annabeth and Jason approaching.

"Guys!" she cried, "Thank the gods, you're fine!"

Piper's previously pink shirt was now covered in soot and ashes, along with her jeans being smeared with black gunk. Percy immediately ran to her hugging her tightly.

"Sea-we-ed Br-ain, you're cho-king me," Annabeth managed to gasp.

Percy released her, and looked in her gray eyes with concern. He immediately bombarded her with questions. "Are you hurt? Brain damage? Limbs?" he fretted. Annabeth had to chuckle; Percy's concern over her well-being was impressive.

"I'm fine Seaweed Brain," groaned Annabeth.

"What happened Annabeth?" questioned a worried Hazel.

"Well, besides a nice cheery visit from my mother and future father-in-law, everything's just dandy," she muttered.

Nico and Hazel exchanged surprised looks. "Two gods visiting in one day? That's not good..," stated Nico.

"Well, maybe they wanted to discuss flower arrangement?" cheerily suggested Piper.

That elected a smirk from everyone in the group. "I highly think two all-powerful Olympians wouldn't visit to discuss flower arrangement," sarcastically stated Jason. "Usually, it's about the apocalyptic ending of the world!"

Muttering agreements coursed throughout the entire group. It was kinda like senior bingo night, except for the fact they were standing on the skeletons of dead people. Huh, maybe they played bingo?

"Wait, dad visited?" elicited a surprised Percy.

"Well yeah, after the fact he heroically saved us from a falling column of death," said Annabeth, sarcastically of course.

"Did he say anything?" said Piper.

"Well, you know, the usual, get Percy, how was your day? I'm going back to Olympus, hooray!" And with that, the group fell silent.

"Well," cheerfully said Hazel, "I guess we got summer cleaning to do!"

Everyone groaned, and Annabeth really did NOT look forward to all the cleanup they were obviously going to be doing. Well, that probably ruined her plans for tonight.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

As Annabeth walked out of the temple of Hades, she noticed much of the fires were now contained, and the tremors had stopped. Cleanup harpies were sweeping away all the rubble... And was one eating a brick? Annabeth shuddered, she really didn't want to think much about what harpies ate. Well, besides the usual occasional demigod appetizer. Percy took her hand, and they strolled down Temple Street, heading to Camp Half-Blood for some sane peace of mind.

Annabeth was hoping to see Rachel though, to try and pry some more advice from her. Even though she and Apollo sadly didn't have the gift of prophecy anymore, Rachel could still offer glimpses into the past. The great Python was still coiled in the caverns of Delphi, blocking the magic of prophecy. Sure, it wouldn't be too difficult to assign a quest to slay Python, but Zeus wouldn't allow it. Apparently, something about "taking a break from prophecies and doomsday events" was the only explanation he gave. Any advice could help; Annabeth knew that. Being a daughter of Athena, she knew every little piece of wisdom was valuable. Even though some of these certain 'pieces' could probably be very stupid.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Annabeth casually turned her head as they walked down the Valley of Odysseus , taking in the sights. The smell of olive trees and various freshwater fountains dotted the landscape. Casual clusters of small forests provided ample shade, and various pavilions for eating were nicely shaded as well. Annabeth loved the Valley of Odysseus; it was the medium between New Athens and Camp Half-Blood. Besides him being her mother's favorite hero, it was an inspiration for Annabeth, she believed she and Percy could have a peaceful life someday, just like the ending of Odysseus' story.

"Hey, Wise Girl... Can we lay down for a moment?" Percy whined, diving face-first into a patch of grass.

"Oh, come on! Percy, we have stuff to do..." Annabeth protested, struggling against the grip of the son of Poseidon.

"Just... One minute... I'm dying here..." gasped Percy.

"Yeah right... And I'm Zeus..." Annabeth snorted.

Annabeth thought she could lay here for days. Camp could wait a couple more minutes... All she needed now was a good book, curled up next to Percy. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, and a pair of black shorts, defining his large muscles. She loved watching Percy sleep; he was cute when he drooled. Don't tell him that!

"So, Percy," stated Annabeth, "Enjoying all the peace that we'll ever get?"

Percy smirked, and grabbed Annabeth in a big, womping hug. "Sometimes, peace is really overrated..." he groaned.

It was cute when he did that, really. With a shrug, Annabeth curled up in his arms, with just a little more time...

The warm sun basked on Annabeth's skin, making her sleepy.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

What Annabeth didn't expect next was waking up at sundown, STILL in the spot she and Percy were in earlier. A queasy realization hit Annabeth. They were going to be late for dinner, Percy's worst nightmare.

"Food... Seaweed Brain..." she whispered in his ear.

Percy's eyes shot open, and he grabbed Annabeth's hand and shot down the valley, paving the way to the dining pavilion. Annabeth shrieked with enjoyment, happily zooming along with him. What Annabeth didn't notice next was the arrow that happened to be hurtling toward her.

* * *

**You like? Remember, (PRR!) Post, read, and review! Remember to criticize and give suggestions as well! Still new here, so let me know if I'm doing anything wrong ;D. BTW, a shoutout to all my reviewers so far, thanks! Keep em coming!**


	4. IV: Annabeth

**Hello all! Thanks for the wonderful reviews again! I bet some of you are wanting to know more about myself! Well, my name is Joshua Smithley, and I am 16 years old, and currently living in Indiana. Most of the time, I'm just an ordinary guy who likes computers and airplanes! I've loved planes all my life, and don't ever plan on stopping that! :D. That's why I call you all my little flyers, you are my army of flying followers! MAHAHAHHA! Anyway, I really do hope you all enjoy this chapter's it's a little bit darker, and I took a bit of extra time planning it. I'll usually be able to update every day or every other day! If I update in every other day, it's usually when I plan out the next block of chapter, it takes me a day to kind of plan the general direction of how a block of chapters is going to go.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus belongs to the dastardly pirate, Rick Riordian! We gotta love Uncle Rick here, Mark of Athena and House of Hades was brilliant, but Blood of Olympus was poor... Rick could have done much better, All he had to do was give us a proper sendoff, instead of rushing to do Magnus Chase, which hasn't even started yet... NO rush Uncle Rick -.-**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter! Annabeth's final chapter is here! Take a guess on who is next! ;D. Without further ado, I give you...**

* * *

**IV. Annabeth**

**Annabeth really hated being dead**. She was pretty sure she was, with the figure of Thanatos standing before her. His rich, teakwood skin adorned his facial features, and his wings were as black as death itself. Or was death supposed to be red? Annabeth couldn't tell, and she really didn't care. Thanatos was wearing simple denim jeans, and a long, robed cloak covered his torso.

His soulless eyes stared right through Annabeth, and she fought hard not to cry. There was still so much that she had to live for! And Percy... Annabeth broke down just then, realizing that she would probably never see him again. Well, depending on where she went in the underworld, but still. It just wasn't fair, her life was being mocked at.

"Relax, daughter of Athena," said Thanatos in a rich, baritone voice, "It is not yet your time."

"B-but didn't that arrow hit me?" stammered Annabeth.

Thanatos sighed, "Why must I always explain things to ignorant mortals?" You're not technically dead, I just pulled you in a dream-like state while they clean up that arrow wound," he groaned. "Would you like to be dead?"

"N-no sir," nervously stated Annabeth. She learned it really wasn't best questioning all-powerful immortals unless you wanted to become a demigod milkshake. Annabeth was sure that monsters' favorite flavor was the children of Athena. Olives and literacy probably appealed to them more, unless they liked seafood better, which was probably the case.

"Why am I here then?" questioned Annabeth, narrowing her eyes.

If this was going to turn out to be another godly kidnapping, Annabeth swore she would march up to Olympus and strangle the living Hades out of Hera. Thanatos glared at Annabeth, his eyes gazing across her mind.

"I know what you know, Annabeth Chase," stated Thanatos, "That explosion was no coincidence."

"Gee, obvious much?" declared Annabeth.

Thanatos stared at her hardly, "Ancient things are stirring, things even Hades does not know of. Whether Tartarus is involved or not, I cannot say..."

"Can't you contain it?" stated Annabeth.

"If I could, I would, but I fear my hold over even death itself is weakening, this goes far back even further than my time with Percy Jackson in Alaska..."

This made Annabeth's eyes widen; not many beings could hold even death at bay itself.

"Wha-," Annabeth's voice was interrupted by the voice of Thanatos.

"Our time ends Annabeth Chase, I believe your friends are looking for you," he said monotonously.

Annabeth was about to speak, when her vision went dizzy, and her mind swirled back to the land of the living, into the face of her concerned friends.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"Annabeth!" Percy was the first to shout as she stirred into consciousness.

Annabeth gazed around into the faces of her concerned friends, and more importantly, into the panicking face of Thalia Grace.

"Annie!" she shouted.

"I told you never to call me that!" Annabeth grumbled as she arose up from her bunk in the infirmary.

She groaned as pain shot through her right shoulder. With a cry, Percy and Thalia rushed forward.

"Back off!" exclaimed a new voice, as Jessica, daughter of Apollo, rushed forward.

"You need to lie down... You've been unconscious for five hours!"

Annabeth gaped; she was out for that long? Normally, it would be spent sleeping in bed or something... But five hours? That was excessive...

"What happened?" Annabeth stated, with a confused look on her face.

That didn't happen often, unless she really couldn't figure something out.

"Well, we were running, and Thals here," butted in Percy, "Happened to think you were a running target, so she took a shot!"

Percy glared at Thalia with a peeved look on his face.

"Uh, well, on the bright side," Thalia chuckled weakly, "Percy shoved you out far enough!"

Annabeth took in Thalia's stature; she was the same as they saw her last summer, with her immortal blessing of Artemis giving her a moonlit glow. Her silver tiara and punk-rock style, along with a Green-Day shirt, adorned most of her features.

"Annabeth!" shot Piper as she bolted through the door, with Jason, Frank, and Hazel in tow. They were instinctively told by Jessica, once more, to back off.

They got as close as they could, and started fawning over Annabeth. Annabeth was grateful for good friends, but too much was too much.

"Guys, I'm fine!" drawled Annabeth.

Instinctively, they gave her some space.

"What happened Annabeth?" said Frank.

"Well, besides a visit from Thanatos warning of our usual doom, just peachy!" she said.

"With my visit from Apollo," Rachel butted in from the corner, "That makes four gods in a day... Something is really off..."

While Rachel didn't elaborate anything about Apollo's visit, Annabeth was happy to see her, considering they were really good friends these days. They did shopping, monster-killing, and fending off the usual apocalyptic ending of the world together.

Slapping her hair-brush on her side, which was used to bean Kronos in the eye, Rachel seemed to have a concerned look on her face.

Sometimes Annabeth thought Rachel would certainly make a convincing daughter of Apollo, with her accurate aiming as well as using to speak previously doomsday-casting prophecies. They weren't as bad as Apollo's haikus though; Annabeth had to shudder at that.

"My visit from Apollo stated the same thing; something's rising that the gods can't figure out just what..." Rachel muttered.

A downcast shadow befell the group, and they were plunged into deep thought. Annabeth noticed an owl outside. Wait, was it staring at Percy? Annabeth sighed, her mother was SUCH a snoop sometimes!

"So Thals, what brings you here?" stated Annabeth.

"Lady Artemis sent us here; she's been recalled to Olympus," droned Thalia.

Everyone exchanged worried looks; the recallment of the Olympians couldn't be good.

"I'll alert the camp!" shouted Frank. He twisted, and then morphed into a hummingbird, buzzing out of the door into the night.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Annabeth took in her surroundings; the infirmary had been greatly expanded, with at least a hundred beds stacked along a hallway. Medical cabinets hung along the walls, and every bedsheet had the symbol of Apollo emblazoned in the center; a golden sun.

"Can you get up now Annabeth?" questioned Hazel, who was standing by the door, instinctively watching the activity outside.

"I-I can try," muttered Annabeth.

She struggled to rise, and started to fall forward on the ground, before Percy caught her, propping her on his arm.

"Just take it easy Annabeth," stated a worried Percy.

Annabeth motioned to sit down, and so did the group. She closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, hearing the chatter of the people around her. All Annabeth wanted sometimes was just a little bit of peace, but no, crazy immortals just had to ruin whatever she wanted.

"Your gift is still blocked Rachel?" asked Piper.

Annabeth opened her eyes, and listened on.

"It feels weird, as if the spirit of Delphi is muted in me, yet I can still see some small glimpses," muttered Rachel.

"Well, a really helpful hint would be useful about now," suggested Jason, pulling Piper onto his lap.

Rachel frowned, "I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best!"

She stared intently at the door, probably working out the day's events in her mind. Percy cradled Annabeth's hand in his own, and they sat in comfortable silence.

Annabeth knew they would probably have to go back home soon; she was just grateful to get some rest. Everyone seemed tired too, due to the chaotic events taking place today. Annabeth had the most intense experience she's had in years, since the Giant War. She was NOT looking forward to this whole mess. You could probably say everyone was feeling like mindless zombies right now, but don't tell Hazel. The poor girl had suffered enough in the underworld. Being dead certainly couldn't have been much fun, Annabeth knew that. Hazel was dressed down in just some simple jeans and a purple t-shirt, with her cavalry sword at her side.

The comfortable silence was interrupted by Rachel, muttering to herself. The group leaned forward, and Annabeth expectantly listened.

"Uh guys," Rachel said, "I don't think-," her voice was immediately interrupted by dead silence.

She convulsed, and stood straight up, her eyes growing an luminous serpent green. Heavy, thick, green mist protruded from her mouth, and everyone scrambled back. For the very first time in years, Annabeth heard the voice of the oracle speak:

_Darkness and despair in endless night_  
_Immortals and mortals' deepest plight_  
_Royal Prison, Fate and gain_  
_Through the fines of boundless pain_  
_Heart and soul, shall nightfall banish_  
_Daughter's light shall conquer and vanish_

With that, Rachel collapsed, and Jason rushed forward to catch her.

_Well, schist_! Annabeth thought. Everyone stared at Rachel with a gaping mouths, as she drifted back into consciousness.

"Uh," she said weakly, "I think I just said the next great prophecy..."

* * *

**You like? Events are starting to move now! *CACKLE* MAHAHAHHAHA! Anyway, remember to PRR! (Post, read and review!) Please guys, I need some reviews, they help me out a bunch!**


	5. V: Leo

**First READ THIS: Guys, I'm just asking for some reviews here, I want to know how you all feel. It motivates me to continue writing, and makes my day! I am really trying to dedicate myself to this fandom, and I would appreciate the support I can get from you guys. **

**SECOND: I would like to state to my first guest reviewer, that while I appreciate your opinion, I think it's biased. You need to understand, the story just began. The first block of chapters merely started the book events rolling on the Greek Side. Please understand, I have a lot planned out, and I specifically said in one of my past statements that I would be including important characters, please remember that. ALL eventual questions will be answered, especially about Percy/Annabeth and New Rome. All that is planned out by me, so just BE PATIENT. This is still a puzzle, and the pieces will be put together eventually. I always have future plans for the series's, as well as very clever plans, so pay close attention. In fact, at the time of your review, I already had this chapter planned out, and it answers all of your suggestions. I hope you're happy ;D, and just remember more detail about this will come eventually. **

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to our special guy, Rick Riordian!**

**I spent some hard work on this chapter! I hope you guys like! At long last, what you guys have been waiting for, without further ado... Captain McShizzle himself!**

* * *

**V. Leo**

**Even before plummeting to his death**, Leo was having a really bad day. The lovely evening sun was shining, and the quietness of the peaceful valleys of  
California was interrupted by screaming.

"LEO!" screamed Calypso, "Get us out of here you dunderhead!"

Leo was about to hit back with a snarky remark. However, Festus ever so casually fell between the couple, playing a Beach Boys tune while also falling to his death.

"Not to worry _chica_! Uncle Leo is in the house!" Leo said with a grin.

Calypso rolled her eyes, "Then hurry up you idiot!" She flailed her arms around, finding nothing but empty air.

Leo had to admit, Calypso was HOT, especially the way her blue dress was-, "NO! Bad Leo!" he mentally scolded himself. It certainly didn't help that his head was lighting on and off on fire, like the Human Torch.

Today was just terrible for Leo, first, a flock of harpies just had to pluck breakfast out of his and Calypso's hands. Then, while eating lunch on Festus, some venti attacked. Now, it was sunset, and this REALLY large eagle ever so casually ripped off Festus' right wing, accounting for the heavy smoke trailing from him. Leo had to sigh, just because he was the awesomest demigod in the world didn't mean he had to continue being a trash basket for all-powerful immortals. And yes, Leo knew awesomest wasn't a word, Annabeth would SO lecture him on that! The gods still needed their awesome Captain McShizzle!

"Hurry up Leo!" shrieked Calypso. Leo broke out of his thoughts, and started assembling a parachute out of the various bits and pieces he always had carrying with him. His hands worked furiously to fashion something to keep him and Calypso afloat.

"M-m, that goes there, and there, gah, not another AK-47!" thought Leo. The rolling hills of California, one of their stops on Uncle Leo's exclusive world tour got closer and closer.

"Hang on Sunshine!" bellowed Leo. Calypso tried to punch him as well as she could while falling three-thousand feet in the air. Leo saw Festus activate his emergency boosters to glide down to the ground, like a graceful ballerina. Could dragons be ballerinas? Leo shrugged.

He secured himself to his nicely-done homemade parachute and pulled Calypso as tight to him as he could, ignoring her shrieks. Leo could smell the cinnamon on her hair, as it always smelled every day. With Calypso safely secured, Leo pulled the cable, releasing the chute. It launched successfully, cushioning them in the air, floating down gently to the ground. Two-thousand feet, one-thousand five-hundred, it got closer.

Leo had to think, ha! Take that overgrown idiots!

He thought they might actually survive this, thanks to the awesomeness that is Leo! That's when the tether snapped.

**~~~~~O~O~~~~~**

Leo didn't expect waking up in the infirmary of Camp Jupiter. He was pretty sure he was there, considering he could see the Forum of New Rome out of his window. Leo remembered half the Forum was blown up during his last visit. He just had to shudder. Sure, he had been possessed by bloodthirsty eidolons, but STILL, it wasn't his fault! The infirmary was mainly dressed in purple bedsheets, with various medical instruments scattered on a couple tables.

Seriously, you didn't need surgery to find out how I'm so awesome... Leo thought. He looked around, and immediately panicked. Calypso wasn't in any of the surrounding beds. Leo swore, if the Romans picked off his girlfriend, he would 'redecorate' the Forum. Leo wiggled his eyes, imagining the things he could do with some spray paint. He could imagine it now, a nice billboard with "All Da Ladies Luv Leo!"

Jarring out of his thoughts, Leo was suddenly slapped across the face. He jerked around, clustering his throbbing right cheek, and came face to face with a VERY angry Reyna.

"LEO VALDEZ, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" screamed Reyna, her purple praetor's cape billowing behind her. Her obsidian eyes glittered with surprise, pain, and tears.

"Uh-well-," stuttered Leo, before being slapped by Reyna yet again.

"OWWWW!" what was that for?! Leo exclaimed.

"FOR BEING DEAD, YOU BLATHERING, NO GOOD-," yelled Reyna, before breaking down. Leo was shocked, the great Reyna, praetor of New Rome, crying like a newborn baby.

"You little idiot! You can't just die on us and come back! Where were you?!"

"Relax, RA-RA... I was so awesome that Hades just decided to let me go!" smirked Leo.

All he got was yet another slap by Reyna.

"Seriously Leo," she said, recomposing herself, "Where in the name of Pluto's Pauldrons did you go?"

"Well, the usual chiz, saving a damsel in distress, falling from the sky, lighting on fire, just my average day," stated Leo.

Reyna groaned, "Of course Valdez, NOW GET UP!"

"Gee, no need to be pushy, every lady will always have time for Leo!" he smiled, standing up and puffing his chest.

Leo didn't expect what came next from Reyna; a bone-crushing hug that just about knocked the breath out of him, which was saying a lot, considering he was dead for a couple of seconds.

"Uh, Reyna, you all right?" questioned Leo. "Are you coming down with a fever of Leo-Is-Awesomeness?"

Reyna usually didn't act like this, choosing to be the stoic leader she wished to be.

Again, Leo was received with a punch to the stomach, and lay groaning on the ground.

"Get up Fire-Boy!" commanded Reyna, pulling him up from the ground, and shoving him out of the door.

The two guards standing in front of the door gaped at Leo.

"P-praetor, isn't that-" stammered the first guard, dressed in imperial gold battle armor and a purple plume adorning his helmet.

"You will speak nothing of this!" boomed Reyna, her solid expression and demeanor returning.

"Yes praetor!" both guards said in perfect unison. Reyna turned to Leo. "Get over here Valdez, we have much to discuss," she said.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

The last time Leo saw the Forum of New Rome, it was smoking, and well, on fire. It looked pretty good, with its cobblestone streets and olive trees that seemed newly planted. The olive trees reminded him of Annabeth... Gods of Olympus, how were his friends taking it? Leo could probably only imagine Jason and Piper's grief over his supposed death.

"Your girlfriend is fine," stated Reyna. "She's off with Hazel somewhere, doing who knows what..."

Leo's eyes widened, "Uh, isn't that a bad idea?" he questioned. His girlfriend and old love interest together... not to mention the fact Hazel thought he was dead...

Reyna smirked, "You tell me, though you probably deserve it!" she said with a cackle.

Leo noticed dozens of Romans gaping at him in amazement, and some giving him the stink eye. Leo had to groan, he blew up the Forum ONE TIME, just one time! But no, he just had to be branded as an arsonist. Leo bumped right into Reyna as she stopped in front of a statue right smack in the middle of the Forum. Leo recognized the statue as him... In all his emblazoned glory, literally. He recognized it covered in imperial gold and celestial bronze, with this WICKED fire effect surrounding his whole body. The plaque at the base of the statue said:

_Leo Valdez_

_Supreme Commander of the Argo II_

_"Repair Boy, Captain McShizzle, The Human Torch"_

_Destroyer of Gaea_

Leo immediately felt guilty. The Romans made a statue for him? Sure, Leo knew he was destined to be the glory of awesome, but dedicating a statue of him in the very place he blew up? Aww, the Romans were getting sentimental!

"Keep moving," muttered Reyna, "Don't make any eye contact."

Walking down the _Via Principia_, Leo noticed it was pretty much the same since he last saw it, with the exception of some Greek elements. Leo saw a few omegas here and there, as well as some foods from Camp Half-Blood he recognized in the hands of some vendors. Reyna whistled for Aurum and Argentinum, and they immediately appeared flanking her sides.

"Uh, nice doggies!" exclaimed Leo.

He could have sworn Aurum was giving him the stink eye too. As they reached the crossroads, Leo noticed a house off to the distance that happened to have an owl and trident weaved on the doorway.

"That's Percy and Annabeth's villa," Reyna stated. "They were supposed to move here next week, we had it all ready for them.

"Uh, supposed?" said Leo. "Well, Annabeth happened to be shot by an arrow two days ago by these stupid Hunters of Artemis," grumbled Reyna.

Leo's eyes shot up in concern, "Is she-"

"She's fine," cut off Reyna with a wave. "She'll need a few days to recuperate, but the worrying thing is another Great Prophecy has been announced," she muttered. "Hazel came back yesterday to tell us the news."

Leo expected Zeus to pop up here and then to claim that this was just another funny joke, and they could all just move on with their lives. Why did he have to be so awesome that the Olympians needed him again? He was ready to propose to Calypso, and just settle down with his life. Screw the Fates, Leo thought.

"I'm not putting up with this load of centaur poop!" moaned Leo, stomping his feet.

"You know you can''t fight prophecies Leo," sighed Reyna.

Leo knew that was true; whatever truly powerful being was out there wanted to screw up the lives of every demigod possible.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

After a good ten minutes talking with Reyna, Leo realized that they were now at the edge of the Field of Mars.

Leo noticed the Fields of Mars was still scattered with rubble, it appeared as if there were some War Games last night. Broken water cannons lay around, and he noticed a cleanup crew sweeping away the debris. Unless Leo was hallucinating, he SWORE he saw a harpy casually... Nah, that couldn't be right. What Leo gaped at though, was a blue dress peaking on the top of the nearest hill.

He immediately bolted, with Reyna, and Aurum and Argentium at his heels. The dogs yapped at the body Leo saw laying on the ground. With a sobbing shriek, Leo saw the body laying there, the bloody body of Calypso.

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**I suppose you all are accusing me of being REALLY evil right now... *Cackle* I hope you guys liked! PRR! Post, Read, and Review!**


	6. VI: Leo

**Hey everyone! *Cackle* First off, thank you SO much for the helpful reviews! Keep them coming! I really appreciate what people are saying, and I will take all your suggestions in mind. With that in mind:**

**I will be updating every 2-3 days, to allow better responses to my story, and to allow it to feel not as rushed. Plus it forces people to wait! *Cackle***

**Due to the extra time, I will be creating longer chapters, along with tie-in content to further satisfy you guys. **

**Anyway, thanks for all your words! I worked VERY hard on this chapter, it's the largest chapter so far, and I plan revising the other chapters at one point to match the length of this one. Don't worry, you won't have to necessarily reread them, I will be only adding sensory detail to enhance and further lengthen the chapters.**

**This chapter of Leo will be interesting, and the quest/directive of this book is FINALLY reached! You all will discover a lot of back-story as to what happened last summer between the Giant War and now. I suggest you all pay CLOSE ATTENTION to this chapter, as it ties back to some of the Annabeth chapters. **

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**

**Good luck! Without further ado, I give you...**

* * *

**VI. Leo**

**Leo didn't expect to see Calypso's ghost**. Well, he thought he did, but he was pretty sure ghosts couldn't laugh at him. Around him, Reyna and Calypso broke into fits of laughter and fell on the ground. "HA-H-HAHH!" Calypso managed to choke out. "D-did you see the look on his face?" cackled Reyna. "W-Wha?" stuttered out Leo, obviously confused, not to mention scarred from his horrible experience moments earlier. He swore the crimson blood dripping from Calypso was as vividly real as a tray of cheesy enchiladas, which he LOVED by the way. He was considering starting an enchilada club with Grover. The so-called dead Calypso disappeared in a puff of smoke. "H-Hee!" a new voice popped in. With wide eyes, Leo recognized Hazel coming over the crust of the hill. Hazel tackled him in a bone-crushing hug, sobbing quietly in his shoulder. "Uh, there there," said Leo, carefully patting Hazel's shoulder. "Calypso told me everything," sobbed Hazel, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Leo felt inclined to agree, why? Well, he was kinda busy these days, touring the world with Calypso. They visited the Acropolis in Athens for the first proper time, without an army of giants breathing down their necks like creepy stalkers. Besides the average monster attacks, it was going pretty normal for a demigod, fire-breathing dragon, and an all-powerful mortal Titan. Hazel gingerly pulled Leo up, staring at him with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Hey, look, I'm fine, we're fine!" stated Leo. "After all, you can't defeat the epitome of awesomeness!" That had to make Hazel giggle. Leo noticed a centurion badge pinned to her gray t-shirt. Did she get promoted? "But, what happened to Calypso?" stammered Leo. "Simple Mist, smirked Hazel, "Tricked you into thinking she was dead, though you really do deserve that, making us all think you were dead!"

"So," interrupted Reyna, "The senate has conveyed a meeting to hear about this next great prophecy, are you coming?" Before Leo could butt in, Calypso said, "Of course Rey!" while dragging Leo along. "Urgh," Leo thought, "My bad-boy McShizzleness is attracting too many fangirls!" That was pretty evidenced, as three girls happened to flank him, while they walked out of the Fields of Mars. Leo gazed at Calypso's hand entwined in his own, and it gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling. They reentered the city of New Rome, heading toward the Senate Building. Leo certainly hadn't been one to notice fine architectural detail, but the city was chock full of them. Elaborately detailed columns supported the roof of many new buildings, with curves Leo saw as familiar. Statues and gilded fountains adorned the edges of the various plazas scattered around. "Annabeth gave us a hand with this," stated Reyna, "She single-handedly designed half the _Via Appia_, running across the entire territory of New Rome."

Leo had to whistle at that, designing a walkway across the entire Roman territory was no easy feat. The small group halted, as Reyna stopped in front of the Statue of Terminus. "Well, well, there's our little survivor!" boomed Terminus, "Now, fork over your weapons!" "Hey, there's no weapon but the blinding light that is Leo!" Leo exclaimed. Terminus sighed, "JULIA!" Give him the pat-down!" A little girl about six years old, with glasses and grown in teeth, popped in from behind Terminus. W-wha, Hey!" exclaimed Leo as Julia picked him up by the foot. Around him, Reyna, Hazel, and Calypso's eyes widened. "B-but how?" stammered Hazel as she saw a little six year old girl shake Leo down. "Hey! Watch that! Be careful with-, OW!" Leo managed to stutter out as tools began falling out of his belt. A five-pound hammer, jackhammer, goggles, blowtorch, chainsaw, crowbar, and other various items fell out of Leo's person. The girls all bounced their heads as they saw this massive amount of items seemingly appear out of Leo.

"There!" exclaimed Terminus as Julia plopped Leo down. Leo oddly felt as if he was violated of his manhood, only Calypso got to do that! "Your credentials seem to be in order," muttered Terminus to the girls, "Please proceed!" "Really? Credentials?" muttered Leo. "Would you like another pat down?" smirked Terminus. "On second thought, I'm good!" exclaimed Leo, as he ran to catch up with the girls now entering the city. Leo noticed a steady stream of senators, all in purple togas, now entering the Senate House of New Rome. The roof was beautifully redone, thanks to that small accident with the _ballistae_ on the Argo II. "Again, stupid eidolons!" thought Leo. He grabbed Calypso's hand as they walked inside the Senate House, again ignoring the looks the Romans were giving him. Reyna pointed to several chairs clustered near the podium, where they would be sitting. Leo gulped, sitting in front of hundreds of people who thought he was dead? Not exactly a good idea.

Paying deep attention to his thoughts, Leo ran straight into an unassuming Frank, collapsing on the ground. Frank turned, and gaped with wide eyes. "L-Leo?" he stuttered. At that moment, Frank chose to pass out on the floor. "Oh come on," groaned Reyna, facepalming. "Frank!" exclaimed Hazel, rushing to his side. Leo just had to groan, when was his awesomeness going to stop making people pass out? A Roman medic teamed shoved through the gathering senators, and picked up Frank, rushing him out of the Senate House. "Keep going," muttered Calypso, lightly shoving him along the growing crowd. Leo sat on the podium, with Reyna on his right, and Calypso on his left. He noticed Octavian wasn't around, and asked Reyna about that. "Well, besides launching himself off a catapult and exploding in a fiery inferno, he's pretty okay!" smirked Reyna. "Huh! So THAT'S why I heard that fireball screaming like a little girl...," vaguely thought Leo.

As they waited for the others to finish assembling, Leo gazed at Calypso, apparently laughing at something with Reyna. His mind flashed back to last summer, when she appealed to the Olympians to ask for her immortality to be removed. "So, Calypso, Daughter of Atlas," boomed Zeus, "You wish to be mortal?!" "Shame," muttered Hera from a corner. As Calypso gazed firmly on Zeus, Leo took a look around the throne room of the Olympians. Around fifteen individuals were present. Leo noticed Hades, Hestia, and Hecate all lounging on thrones of their own. Were they now Olympians? He gazed the far right corner of the room, with a figure, wait, was that Apollo in the corner? He was wearing a dunce hat, sitting on a stool crying his eyes out silently. "How do gods even cry?" thought Leo. He was interrupted by the rebuttal of Zeus, "-ocess would be painful at least, plus, what's in it for me?" "Well you won't have to put up with her for yet another eon," muttered Poseidon, who Leo recognized as the father of Percy.

He noticed Poseidon giving them a wink, indicating his support for the couple. "But it should be impossible! You can't just revoke immortality from a person!" exclaimed Artemis. "On the contrary, dear daughter, Calypso's immortality is merely-, wait, Hermes, what are you doing?" questioned Zeus. Leo noticed Hermes wrapping up a package at the base of his throne, sealing it tightly with Duct-O'-Godly-Tape. "Well, dear father," drawled Hermes, "You're forcing me to work overtime with this stupid thing! I'm trying to deliver this package of cats and dogs to Camp Half-Blood, one of mine ordered it!" Zeus sighed, "Very well, carry on!" "Anyway, as I was saying, Calypso's immortality is tied directly to the island due to her being there for so long, if we removed Ogygia from existence, she should carry on being nothing but a mortal." "Do it!" shouted Calypso. Zeus frowned, "You would do well to be lenient, Titaness!" "Let's vote, who wishes to revoke Calypso of her immortality?" Most hands raised up in the throne room, with the exception of Demeter, Hera, and Dionysus as usual, he was such a grouch!

"Very well, the vote stands!" boomed Zeus, "Calypso, are you prepared?" "I am, Lord Zeus," stated Calypso, looking at Leo with love in her eyes. Leo was tempted to reach forward, but didn't want to risk angering the all-powerful immortals in the room. "PREPARE!" bellowed Zeus. At once, all fifteen immortals rose from their thrones, including Apollo from his little foot-stool, and starting chanting in an ancient language that even Leo hadn't heard of before. A golden glow surrounded Calypso, sealing the oath of bonds onto herself. Calypso screamed in pain, and Leo rushed forward to reach her. "Screw this," Leo thought, "No one's touching Sunshine!" He cradled Calypso in his arms, as the golden glow faded. "Expect her in some pain," gruffly stated Hephaestus. Leo looked up at his father with fear in his eyes, would she survive? "She'll be perfectly fine Leo," said Hephaestus. Leo sighed, at least she would be okay, right?

That's when Calypso started coughing up the blood of immortals, which, oddly enough, showed small specks of red in them. He watched in horror as the red grew, until she was coughing up pure red blood. "It is done," stated Zeus, "Ogygia is destroyed!" By this time, Calypso had passed out like a drunkard at a high-school party. "It'll be okay _chica_," muttered Leo as he rocked her back and forth, "We'll be okay soon!" "You best take care of her, son of Hephaestus," stated Artemis as the council dismissed, it's members teleporting out to their respective domains. "She would make a fine Hunter, no doubt, but her loyalties apparently lie with you." Leo had to snort, Calypso a hunter? Sure, he would far rather die again than to experience that kind of pain.

Leo was shaken off of his thoughts by Calypso poking him. "Reyna is addressing them now," she whispered. Leo certainly would like more of that whispering, especially in the various hotels they stayed at..., he wiggled his eyebrows. "Today, we address the next great prophecy," loudly stated Reyna, "And the arrival of Leo Valdez!" With that, the Senate upheaved in a revolt, senators shouting in cries and claims of blasphemy. Leo was really thankful that weapons weren't allowed inside the Pomerian line, he really didn't want to be poked by these sharp-looking sticks outside the entrance.

With a grin, Leo stood up waving his hands, "HEY THERE SENATORS OF NEW ROME! YOUR SUPREME CAPTAIN IS BACK!" That shut up the senators, also making some of them pass out. One of them fell face-first in a woopie pie he was eating. "G-ghost!" screamed one senator, bolting out of the building. Reyna sighed, "Someone get the mental squad, tell them Senator Casi has gone nuts again!" "NOW, SHUT UP!" she boomed. With gaping mouths, the senators all sat down. "Now, the prophecy," Reyna sighed. "Hazel, would you enlighten us please?" Hazel rushed from the front-row seat she was sitting on, and stood in front of the podium. "Fellow senators of New Rome," she said, "I give you the next great prophecy as announced by Rachel Dare!"

_Darkness and despair in endless night_

_Immortals and mortals' deepest plight_

_Royal Prison, Fate and gain_

_Through the fines of boundless pain_

_Heart and soul, shall nightfall banish_

_Daughter's light shall conquer and vanish_

Rioting started up with the senators again, with screams of night and despair. Reyna sighed, "I anticipated this would happen, Calypso, mind firing the flare gun?" "Happy to!" smiled Calypso, reaching for the flare gun hidden behind the podium. Calypso fired three shots in the air, an explosion of red shiners mesmerizing the senators. "Hey, where did the third flare go?" stated Leo, just now noticing that two went off. Confused, the senators looked around. "Hey! What's this?" said a new voice. "Scott!" exclaimed Reyna, "Put that down!" At that moment, the flare exploded, sending Scott flying, crashing through the door of the Senate House into the street behind it. "This is total anarchy," groaned Reyna, "Nothing makes sense anymore!"

Leo felt inclined to agree, if it wasn't for the centaur bursting through the door. With a mad scramble, the senators ducked out of the way. "My lady!" exclaimed the centaur, to the direction of Reyna. "N-news from Olympus!" Reyna sheathed her drawn sword, "What news Billy?" The centaur named Billy had to take a few minutes to catch some breath, and proceeded to lie down on the floor of the Senate House. "Terrible, m'lady," drawled Billy, "Olympus is in revolt, riots everywhere!" Calypso gasped, "Could this have anything to do with commotions here and in New Athens?" "Most probably m'am," said Billy. "And why?" questioned Reyna. "Because, because," stuttered Billy. "Out with it! exclaimed Reyna. What happened next made Leo gasp, as well as every other person in the room. Leo really thought this wasn't fair, life was SO screwed now. "The Fates have been kidnapped," said Billy solemnly.

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***Cackle* I hope you guys like the chapter! Remember to PRR! Post, Read, and REVIEW!**


	7. VII: Leo

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! That's my statement :D. Seriously, hundreds of views on my story every day, and few reviews? Come on guys, you can do better than that! To answer some people:**

**Storymaker, thank you for your review! I appreciate your thoughts. I spaced out each chapter like you suggested, so we'll see how that goes! I personally think it's good having a cliffhanger for every chapter, since this is a work in progress, but everyone is different. **

**Finally, LoveDystopia! I LOVE LOVE LOVE your reviews! I thank you SO MUCH for making such good reviews, and long ones at that! You make lovely reviews, and I LOVE reading long reviews, so keep them coming! I enjoy your comments after every chapter, and this makes me very happy, knowing that I have a reliable reviewer, who's not afraid to state opinion! Keep the long reviews coming! I enjoy them, and look forward to the one for this chapter!**

**So, anyway, this is a good size chapter again, I worked hard on it. And it's within the deadline ;D. Like I said, I'm sticking to my promise to you guys. I have the feeling you will all enjoy this chapter. This is a chapter of resolution for Leo in a specific way. A surprising thing is shared here, so I hope you all enjoy! Hopefully this will motivate you all to review ;D. **

**Also, there are some new words and specific phrases made up in this chapter, so just bear that in mind ;D, and yes, it includes blowy uppy!**

**So, without further ado... I give you...**

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**VII. Leo**

**If everyone had just stayed calm**, Leo would have been happy. But NOOO, the rioting just had to keep happening, and it DEFINITELY was worsening. "Calypso! Watch out!" Leo exclaimed, shoving Calypso aside as a Fruit Roll-Up, wine bottle, and cream pie hurtled at her. Leo sighed, why did their awesomeness have to attract a crazy, yet dedicated fanbase? If this kept up, he would have to withdraw party privileges! Besides him, Reyna shouted, "ROMANS! Calm yourself!" The turmoil increased, and Leo had to make a logical guess for once, the Fates' disappearance from Olympus probably affected the others as well. After all, they controlled destiny itself, weaving the er, well, fates of everybody on the planet. "Gah!" Leo thought to himself, he was getting WAY too book-smart. Dang Calypso... With an effort, several legionnaires burst through the Senate House, attempting to keep the crowd under control. Leo was impressed over the legionnaires' resilience, considering their destiny was kidnapped, as well as an army of bloodthirsty senators wielding pillow cushions.

Leo smelt something nasty in the air. With a nudge, he elbowed Hazel. "Hey, do you smell that? Smells like my Aunt Rosa's pits!" he smirked. Hazel wrinkled her nose, "Isn't that coming from-," as she was interrupted by the explosion of the dome directly above them. Leo yelped as everyone in the room scrambled for cover as a god crashed through. With smoking overalls, a bushy beard, and the creaking of an braced leg, Leo recognized the man as his own father, Hephaestus. "Sorry for the mess," Hephaestus grumbled, "Teleporting ain't working these days!" "D-dad?" Leo stammered. He hadn't seen Hephaestus since last summer, since, well, the Olympians tried choking the life out of his dear girlfriend. "Son," huffed Hephaestus, "Calypso, beautiful as always!" Around Leo, the Romans knelt, acknowledging the presence of an all-powerful blowy-uppy god. "Lord Vulcan," stated Hazel, curtsying solemnly. "Romans, the time is at hand!" boomed Hephaestus, "As you are aware, the Fates have been kidnapped!"

Thankfully, the presence of an all-powerful immortal being shut the Romans up for the first time in, well, a couple of hours. "Gee, about time!" thought Leo. "Leo, m'boy," butted in Hephaestus, "How ye doing?" "Uh, fine I guess?" said Leo, almost questioningly. Hephaestus patted Leo's shoulders, with twinkling eyes. Leo was shocked, his father never showed him this much affection, he really wasn't a people person. Not to mention, weren't gods not allowed to interact with their children? Okay, that last part was pretty sucktastic, Leo had to admit. Hephaestus smiled, "I know what you're thinking, m'boy, how am I here?" Leo nodded, he would REALLY like to know, as well as the crazy army of senators still kneeling below him. "Well," drawled Hephaestus, "The Fates upkeep em' ancient laws, so naturally, uhum, they're not in effectiveness now..." Leo grinned with wide eyes, they could have a father's day out! Too bad they have to handle rescuing bat-crazy grannies.

"So, what now my lord?" nervously ventured Reyna as she and the other Romans rose. "A quest is o' being assigned," muttered Hephaestus. "Hang tight, or yer all be vaporized!" "Wait, what?" questioned Calypso, speaking for the first time since a godly being crashed through their roof. She laced her hands tightly through Leo's. Leo had to smirk, Calypso just couldn't keep her hands off of him! This just proved his super-awesome demigodnishness. Around Leo, the Romans started muttering, as red lightning energy started coursing through the outer circle of the Senate House! "Wait, where are you taking us?!" panicked Calypso. "New Athens, hang on tight, shut yer yaps up, or yer' all vaporize!" exclaimed Hephaestus. Leo's eyes widened, "WAIT! DAD!" And that' when the lightning surrounded them, flashing them out of existence. "AHHHHHH!" Leo screamed, not caring whether he sounded like a girl or not. Hazel and the others were worse, especially Calypso, who was screaming her head off.

"Bang!" Leo plopped on his butt as the entire party of Romans, himself, Calypso, and Hephaestus crashed onto the _agora_ of New Athens. Hephaestus smashed onto the stone bricks, stirring up a dust storm with a loud crack. The first four columns surrounding him toppled to the ground, crushing the several dozen plants adorning their bases. With a gasp, Leo checked himself for all his body parts. Arms? Check. Legs? Check. Extremely hot girlfriend? Double check! With a shaky frame, Leo stumbled up to his feet, pulling a clutching Calypso up to him. Around Leo, the Romans got up as well, Hazel supporting Reyna. "Wait, where's Festus?" Leo thought, "Ah, I'll just get him back later!" "Frank!" exclaimed Hazel, "Where is he?!" Hephaestus frowned, "Er, I had thought I di'o furget something..., eh we'll get him later." Hazel face-palmed at that, but didn't say anything for fear of getting blasted to bits. Leo immediately panicked, being in New Athens was NOT a good idea, especially with the entire Greek community thinking he was dead...

"L-Leo?" butted in a new voice. Whirling around, Leo immediately noticed a wide-eyed Jason and Piper, as well as every single cabin leader happening to be within his visual radius. "Oh great," groaned Leo, "More adoring fans!" "Oh joy, what we needed, more nutso demigods!" groaned Dionysus as he walked forward to the group. Leo noticed the Olympians all milling around, now staring at them too. "Lee Vale," muttered Dionysus, "What in Zeus' good name possessed you to drag yourself back here?" Zeus glowered, and made a move to tackle Dionysus, but Poseidon stepped forward. "Peace brother," Poseidon stated. Leo bulged, he would SO bet money on Poseidon to win that match. Zeus backed down, and Leo had to sigh, there went a hundred drachmas! With a cry, Leo noticed Piper and Jason rushing forward, engulfing him in a hug.

Every cabin leader then proceeded to do the same, making a huge circle around him. Lou Ellen, Will Solace, Clarisse LaRue, Nico, you name it, everyone was tightly hugging him. "G-guys, can't b-r-eathe," choked out Leo. At that moment, Piper chose to punch him in the stomach. "Gah!" Leo groaned as he toppled to the ground, for probably the dozenth time today.

"Dang, that woman has aim!" thought Leo has he struggled to get up. He would have to go to the infirmary to get his stomach pumped, it was taking WAY too much. "Sigh, there goes another fifty drachmas," mused Leo. He would have to start a gambling ring just to get his funds back. Hmm, would the Stolls be interested? Leo broke out of his thoughts with Jason rushing up to him, giving him a man-hug, in a awkward, but yet non-creepy way. Leo sighed yet again, he was too popular for his own good!

Ignoring his pain, Leo spread his arms in a grin, "Uncle Leo is back my peeps!" The campers all proceeded to cheer, interrupted by the groaning of the gods. "For Hades sake Valdez," groaned Hermes, "You couldn't tone it down?" Poseidon butted in, "Well Hermes, our little cheerful ball of fire will always be an annoying thorn!" "Wait," frowned Piper, turning toward the immortals. "You mean to say he was alive all this time? AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?!" With a roar, Piper tried tackling Hermes, but was restrained by Jason. "Calm down Pipes," he muttered, "We'll talk later." Jason's glasses were slightly knocked over by the fuss Piper made.

Leo had to grin, Piper's warrior ferociousness still hadn't diminished. "Be careful dear," stated Aphrodite, "We wouldn't want dear Hermes hurting you now, would we?" Her flowing pink dress swirled around as she fanned herself. Leo saw Piper roll her eyes, probably with turmoil. "I brought 'em like ye wanted Zeus," cut in Hephaestus, strolling out of his blast zone without a care in the world. Leo grinned, his dad was pretty epic! The power of Hephaestusness! "Yes," grumbled the lord of the sky, "Campers, we have much to discuss!" Leo noticed Calypso in a corner, slightly trembling from all the commotion, especially seeing Percy off to the side. Leo was lucky he hadn't seen Calypso yet, he was too busy quietly talking with Annabeth. Zeus snapped his fingers, and immediately, every person in the area was in a cushioned, pure white chair facing fifteen makeshift thrones. Happily enough, Calypso was plopped right in his lap. "Couldn't stay away from me _chica_?" Leo grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. "Oh please, as if!" said a grinning Calypso. Leo pulled Calypso closer, and noticed much of the campers and Romans were STILL staring at him.

Jason and Piper were teary eyed, looking on from further down the crowd. Leo made a mental note to talk to them later, they were probably really hurting right now. He felt really bad, kinda ashamed too. Gee, only clowns were supposed to be ashamed! He had a run-in with a demented clown last month, don't ask. Let's just say there are some scars Leo would prefer to forget. "As you know campers," boomed Hades, dressed in his usual black garb, and, wait, was that mascara? "The Fates are kidnapped, destiny is unraveling!" "A quest will be issued," stated Demeter, her wheat-colored hair and her green sundress flowing down her body. "The Fates need to be returned at all costs! If this continues, the world itself will unravel, allowing the fines of doom to breathe!" Leo frowned, fines of doom? Sounded kind of like a brand of yarn, if you asked him. "Wait, ohhhhhh, yarn.., nevermind!" he thought. "As the ancient laws are not in effect at the moment," Zeus grumbled, "Us gods may assist you on the quest, in limited quantities!" That elicited a buzzing chatter among the campers. Since when could immortals actually spend time with their kids? "I suggest you make it last," butted in Zeus, "Once the Fates are returned, we conform back to the laws!"

Leo felt kinda cheated. Sure, Hephaestus was here, but he would have to go back? That was absolutely sucktastic! Well, at least he still had Calypso, the hottest girl on Earth, and well, all his friends. Okay, maybe it wasn't so bad, but still! "Joy Zeus, what a pleasant announcement!" muttered Poseidon, thumping his trident. Poseidon was dressed in his usual Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian shirt, and a beaten up fishing cap. Turning around, Leo saw Percy gazing at his father with a grin on his face. Leo smirked, knowing Percy, he would SO take advantage of his time. Turning back to the council, Leo noticed Athena, dressed in a _chiton_ dress, glaring at Percy. "Hey, you alright?" said Calypso. "Everything's alright with Uncle Leo!" he smirked. Calypso rolled her eyes and punched him, "No, the other kind of alright.." "Oh.., yeah!" stated Leo, keeping up his happy facade. "Quest members need to be chosen," said Zeus, "This is no easy task, rescuing the Fates themselves, and finding out this threat we are against!" "That much is obvious brother," grumbled Hades. "All I know, the threat sure isn't a happy camper, er, excuse the pun!"

Leo saw Zeus stroke his beard, keeping a close eye on him. Gee, Zeus really needed a shave. Leo didn't feel like saying that out loud though, unless he wanted to end up in a pair of Hades' underwear. "Holy Hephaestus," thought Leo, "Now that's creepy!" "I suggest giving it a day my lord," suggested Hecate, goddess of magic, "We need to digest this!" "Indeed," said Zeus, "This matter does need to be resolved soon, council dismissed!" With a snap, Zeus poofed out the chairs. Thudding on the ground, Leo was sure his butt was broken by now, especially with Calypso on top of him. Now, normally, he would be the one on top in other areas.., but not today. Giving a nod to Jason and Thalia, which WHOA, Leo just noticed a group of fifty hunters happening to stalk right behind the plaza, Zeus warped out of their visual plane. "Well, I ain't going anywhere," said Hephaestus, tinkering with an assortment of parts he pulled from thin air. The other remaining gods muttered agreements, and scattered off to wherever their kids probably were. Leo kinda felt bad for Hermes, he would have to deal with thirty of his own screaming kids...

Pulling Calypso to her feet, again, Leo caught Piper's eye. Talk to you later, her look said. Leo sighed, he was SO going to be chewed out by Mama Bear later! "I'm heading out to the forges m'boy," quietly said Hephaestus, "You coming?" Leo grinned, "Of course dad! Mr. McShizzle is coming!" Hephaestus and Calypso both rolled their eyes simultaneously. Leo turned, widening his eyes at the GIGANTIC smokestack-belching forge two streets ahead of him, and immediately bolted for it. Even though the end of the world might be happening again, Leo was pretty happy. A girlfriend who could get dirty in both kinds of ways, and a no-longer-absent-but-yet-will-be father? Life was getting SAH-WEET. Leo knew he would have to face the music with everyone else later, but he needed out for now. Halfway to the forges, a new voice came in, "Leo!" said Nyssa as she rushed up to him, hugging him tightly. "Hey Nyss," smiled Leo, hugging her back just as equally. "Don't leave us again you idiot!" she exclaimed. "Don't worry, he's naturally an idiot," smirked Calypso. Nyssa smirked, "I think I like this girl!" Hephaestus had to snicker, and Leo rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure, let's go," he said, waving his hands in a shooing motion. In all, things were going pretty good, if it wasn't for the dragon falling from the sky.

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**Bit abrupt isn't it? ;D. I should be updating either tomorrow or on Friday. Just added this quick note.**


	8. VIII: Leo

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Just getting you guys's attention ;D. I'm please with the amount of reviews for last chapter, let's keep it up like that!**

**For all my reviewers last chapter, thanks a lot! I'll keep all your suggestions in mind.**

**LoveDystopia, thank you FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEW! Keep them coming like that ;D. Oh, BTW, I loved your Charmander comment so much, I had to drop it in the chapter somewhere, so thanks a lot for it! Don't worry, all credit goes to you ;D. I like Pokemon BTW, do you too? I'm looking forward to your next awesome review for this chapter! **

**So guys, final chapter for our Captain of Flame, Leo! I certainly worked hard to give him a good sendoff, so I hope you all enjoy!**

**-Also, I will be revising the last chapter, Chapter 7 a little bit, to make some of the dialogue fit better and a bit less choppy. Will do it when I have more time. **

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick Riordian!**

***Yes, I know awesomest is not a word, it just conforms to Leo.**

**So, without further ado... Here ya go ;D**

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**VIII: Leo**

**If it wasn't for two dragons actually falling from the sky**, Leo was sure he was hallucinating. A bronze dragon glided down, with a light-gray dragon cruising right behind it. Both of them were spitting out fire, and Leo had to grin. The dragons were the very definition of fiery awesomeness! Another point for Team Leo! Grinning even wider, Leo recognized Festus swooping down, with far over one-thousand Fahrenheit's worth of fire breathing from his maw. Leo didn't recognize the gray dragon at all, it must have come to admire his ever so growing awesome demigodnishness! Oh, all his fans were getting desperate now, Leo was sure of it. "Leo!" screamed Nyssa! "What the heck is that?!" Nyssa and Calypso both ducked behind Hephaestus, making the god stumble, as well as eliciting a confused look on his face. "What's wrong with ye all?" questioned Hephaestus, "Never seen a fire-breathing dragon bef'ore?" Leo puffed up us chest, "Of course they have dad! They're just terrified of the glory that is Leo!" With a groan, Calypso and Nyssa face-palmed. "The only glory you're ever having is face in the dirt," muttered Calypso.

"Frank!" exclaimed a new voice. Leo saw Hazel run over to the gray dragon now settling five yards from them. "Ah, so THAT'S what it was," thought Leo. Dang, he really thought the dragon came to observe him in all his godly action. Frank the dragon twisted and turned, morphing into a tall, Asian-looking boy with a bow and set of arrows strung on his back, as well as a gray hoodie fitted on his top. Or, as Leo liked to call him, Chinese Canadian Baby Man! Leo had to smirk, being friends with a cussing horse had it's advantages. "Leo!" shouted Frank, just now finishing his hug with Hazel and jogging over to him. Leo gulped, he would rather face an execution squad than face the might of Frank, towering well over six feet and a couple inches. "G-ACK!" choked Leo as Frank proceeded to scoop him and crush him in another hug, amongst the gaze of a snickering Hephaestus, Calypso, Nyssa, and Hazel. Leo had to sigh, he was getting too popular for his own good, the fan mobs were starting to get too much. Before you know it, he would need to pack up and move to another country! Well, technically, that did happen for a bit, but whatever.

"We thou-t-ought you were dead!" choked out Frank. "Gee, a little slow there big guy, Hazel said that already," muttered Leo. Frank glared at him, punching Leo in the arm. Groaning again for probably the sixth time today, Leo curled up on the ground. He was SO going to need a bodyguard, there were far too many crazed fans these days. After all, no one could resist the power of Uncle Leo! "Never do that again Valdez," growled Frank. Leo shot up and saluted Frank, "YES SIR!" "At ease Valdez," grinned Frank. With a nod, Leo slung his shoulder over Calypso, jerking her close to him. "And Franko, this is my lovely little _chica_, Calypso!" exclaimed Leo. "Stuff it Valdez, I'm not your personal property!" stated Calypso, though she couldn't do it without a grin. At that moment, Leo knew his awesomeness would forever be imprinted onto the world!

At that moment, Leo felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he ran straight into a grinning Percy. "As a housewarming gift Leo...," he said as Annabeth jogged up by his side with a bucket, "FEEL THIS!" Widening his eyes, and Calypso scrambling out of the way, an extremely large ice-cold water bucket was tossed over his head. Leo didn't care about his dignity at the moment, he more cared about screaming like a little girl as the water soaked through all his good possessions. "HOLY HEPHAESTUS, YOU MONSTERS!" screamed Leo, prancing around like a ballerina while the gathered demigods, mortal titaness and present god cackled their pretty little heads off. "Hey, you know, wouldn't Leo be dead right now?" mused Jason as he walked up, hand to hand with Piper, "Since, technically, he's a Charmander and they die when their fire goes out?" "Jason, this isn't Pokemon," face-palmed Annabeth, while Piper had to groan at that comment too. Leo scrambled up to his feet, again, "Uncle Leo never dies my peeps! ETERNAL SALIVATION!" "What about eternal punching?" mused Piper. "On second thought, I'm okay!" Leo exclaimed. He was REALLY overdue for a stomach pump.

"Can't handle some water m'boy?" questioned Hephaestus as he shuffled up to Leo. The others bowed their head to Hephaestus out of respect. Leo smiled, of course he didn't have to, his daddy was there! That, and his awesomeness outshines the need to bow anywhere, especially to a pile of potty sludge. Cocking his head to his side, Hephaestus looked deep in thought. Suddenly, he spoke up, startling the living Hades out of Leo. "Excuse m'e, Zeus is a-calling," as Hephaestus warped out of existence in a column of flame, singing the eyebrows of Jason and Piper, who mistakenly got close enough. Leo smirked, his fireproof powers just demonstrated the reason for his awesome existence in the universe! "Youch!" exclaimed Piper as she jumped back with Jason. Whirling around to face Leo, "You and I are having a little chat mister," she growled. "HAHA!" cackled Percy, until Annabeth slapped him on the arm to shut him up. "Kill me now," Leo thought. "Gladly," smirked a new, rich, baritone voice as it echoed through Leo's mind before diseappearing. "Okay, that was weird...," thought Leo. "OWOWOW!" exclaimed Leo as Piper grabbed him by the ear, dragging him down the cobblestone streets, with Jason in tow. Man, that woman had grip! "Good luck Leo!" waved Hazel. "Have fun!" smirked Frank. "Gee, thanks for the love guys!" screamed Leo as Piper dragged him into a side alley.

"Uh, okay, I think I can-," stammered Leo as Piper halted him to a stop. Dang, that girl WAS SCARY! Even Jason was fidgeting a bit. "Wimp much?" snorted Leo, inwardly of course. "Explain," deeply growled Piper. "Uh okay, so island, girl, world tour, falling from sky, harpies, all the lot!" stuttered out Leo. Jason raised his hand, "Uh, isn't that what Leo usually does?" Piper turned around, "Muzzle it Sparky," she said with a sweet grin. Leo looked around for an escape route, if Piper went nuts, there was still a slim chance he could escape! Better yet, he could find Calypso and escape the city and Piper's wrath! That girl could hit way harder than any five pound hammer could... Shaking out of his thoughts by Piper literally shaking him, Leo focused on her kaleidoscope eyes, shining with tears. "I'm just glad you're okay," she sniffled, burying her face in Leo's chest. "There there Pipes," patted Leo, "We need to focus on one thing, okay?" "what?" muttered Jason, taking a step closer. "The fact of my natural awesomeness," smirked Leo. He could feel Piper grin, "Shut up," she said. Jason shook his head, "And there's our Leo back," he muttered.

Clutching Piper's hands in his own, Leo noticed a shiny little ring on her finger. "Ooo, what's this?" he smirked, "A piece of jewelry for our Pipes?" "Engagement ring," muttered Piper. "Geez Jason, now you're stuck with Princess for the rest of your life!" boomed Leo. "Yeah, but she's my princess, smiled Jason, pulling Piper to her wrist. "He proposed yesterday!" squealed Piper. "Pipes, your inner Aphrodite is showing, muttered Leo. "Oh sorry!" she shrieked. "It's just, I'm so-," Leo cut her off by putting his finger on her lips. "Shh shh there, Papa Leo is here to help!" "Now Jase," said Leo, sizing Jason up. He noticed Jason's glasses were slightly bent, and he was wearing denim shorts, as well as a plain orange top. Looking back at Piper, she was smashing in a purple silky top with slim blue jeans. "You better not harm her, or you've unleashed the beast!" Leo stared at Jason, sluicing his own throat with the kill thumb. "Uh, okay-ish?" droned Jason, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hey! Leo!" a new voice popped in from the entrance of the alley. "Calypso! Over here!" Leo exclaimed. Jogging over to Leo, Calypso looked stunning as always. Her blue dress was cleaned up well, and she was running barefoot. "Eh," thought Leo, "Makes her look hotter anyway!" "This half-horse man demands you guys," frowned Calypso, "He's talking about the quest or something." "Ooo, who's this?" exclaimed Piper. "I'm glad you asked Pipes, this is the eternal love of my life, Calypso!" grinned Leo, snaking an arm around Calypso's waist. "And this is my cute little scrawny man," smirked Calypso, shooting a look back at Leo. "I'm wounded! Scrawny? Have you seen my buff muscles?" demanded Leo, flexing his left arm. Piper stared, "Uh, I don't think I see anything Leo...," she said. Calypso cackled, "I think we'll get along really well," she said. "Did I ever tell you about the time Leo popped-?," she started. "Tell me more, grinned Piper, lacing an arm around Calypso. Leo groaned, following them out of the alley with Jason by his side.

"I know man," said Jason, shooting him a sympathetic look. "I'm dead," groaned Leo. On the bright side, he could go square-dancing with Beckendorf in the underworld or something. Leo wasn't sure about square-dancing, but eh, whatever. With wide eyes, Leo noticed the city of New Athens around him. "Okay, this is new," he muttered. Leo spied countless coffee shops and vendors surrounding the dozens of streets yawning from their current location. In the distance, Leo could see an acropolis, very much like the one in the original Athens. He mentally shuddered, the last time he was there with the Seven, the world kinda turned evil on them. Not to mention, a crazy army of giants demanding their blood. "Pretty sweet, right?" butted in Jason. "Took some time, but Annabeth created all this!" Leo whistled, Annabeth's designs were pretty sweet. He especially liked the way these horizontal lines complimented the columns leading into that garden. Keeping up with the girls in front of them, Leo recognized them turning back toward the _agora_. "The_ agora_ is pretty much our informal place," grumbled Jason. "So, it's basically our new ping-pong table?" questioned Leo. "Yeah, pretty much," shot back Jason.

"Leo, good to see you again," warmly smiled Chiron as the group entered the _agora_. Noticing Leo enter, the gathered demigods cheered into a deafening roar. "YES, UNCLE LEO IS BACK, AND ALIVE! FEEL THE BURN!" he shouted. Thumping his hoof against the ground, Chiron got the others to attention. "Now now, my friends, our quest," he stated. "As said by the gods, the Fates are essential, and must be rescued!" "Why can't we just leave 'em?" questioned Clarisse, sharpening a knife, as usual. Leo smiled, Clarisse's violence hadn't diminished one bit. "In case you hadn't noticed," butted in Katie Gardener, "Everything is infinimste without them!" "Ina-what?" said Calypso, speaking up. "Think of it this way," said Will Solace, taking attention of the crowd. Gee, Leo knew Will was certainly one to get attention, but with poetry? Shame on him! "The Fates dictate how many ways come and go," Will said. "Without them, we're lost!" That puzzled Leo, and probably everyone else in the agora, as evidenced by the confused muttering of the crowd. Okay, Leo could get the ways part, but being lost? Like in a labyrinth or something? "Okay, scratch that," Leo thought. He heard about the labyrinth, and DID NOT want to get in that creepy place. It was probably as creepy as that fajita he saw in Fiji one time. Now THAT had been one heck of a weekend!

"How are we even supposed to get started?" shrugged Lou Ellen from Hecate. "Precisely so," butted in Eli, head of the Nike cabin. "The gods may have several clues, they've asked the chosen quest members to convene at Olympus at once," muttered Chiron. Leo looked around, and there conveniently happened to be fifteen missing immortals. "Ohhh, they're in ANOTHER meeting, of course," thought Leo. He really thought he would have to turn in an AMBER alert on a group of highly powerful missing immortals. "This is no easy task," warned Chiron. "No duh," butted in Percy from the back of the crowd. He was gripping Annabeth tightly, his face slightly pale. Leo frowned, was he having a flashback or something? "The gods need an answer soon," pleaded Chiron, "Let us tread carefully young ones!" Chattering broke out in the _agora_, with countless legacies and demigods talking to one another in small groups. Running up to Percy and Annabeth, Leo noticed the rest of the Seven converging on them. "What now guys?" questioned Calypso, sticking to Leo's side, gazing upon the other six. "I don't know," frowned Piper, "It seems likely some of us should go."

"Hey wait, it's the Seven of us back together again!" exclaimed Percy. "Shouldn't we have balloons or cake or something?" "I second that!" Leo spoke up. Leo REALLY needed some cake here, he was slightly deprived of sugar. But then again, sugar was a BAD IDEA for all demigods, well, mostly."It's too much of a risk having all of us on this quest," muttered Jason, "We're all needed in other areas!" Leo felt inclined to agree, the most powerful demigods in the world all in one quest area? You might as well point a tactical nuke at them, saying LOL NOOBS, before blowing them all up in an fiery explosion. Which, of course Leo would survive, due to his awesomeness reflecting off any warded attacks. Together, they would be pretty impressive though, WAY outshining Chuck Norris! Leo didn't really like that son of Zeus though, just because he showed up in Walker, Texas Ranger, didn't have to mean he was the awesomest demigod ever, that was reserved for Leo! "This is going to need magicians," muttered Annabeth. "Preferably children of Hecate perhaps?" Leo noticed Annabeth looking at Calypso out of the corner of her eye, did she say something while he was gone with Piper? Either way, it looked like it was going okay, which was good, considering Calypso's history with Percy... "Oh Hades," thought Leo, "Bet you they talked..." Wow, this was REALLY going to be awkward later. "I'LL GO!" butted in a voice, which Leo and just about everyone else in the room turned around to face.

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	9. IX: Piper

**New Notes:**

***OCTOBER 27, 2014: RE-EDIT. This switches, because I made a mistake in production, it was like 11 o-clock last night, and my dad was yelling at me, which sidetracked the whole chapter completely. I've re-edited it so it's a little different.**

**-Lovedystopia, whoo, your original chapter 9 review, hit me like a sledgehammer lol. You must really have been having a bad day! I've never written romance before, so I may have gotten carried away, sorry! I replaced some of the romance with a better explanation of events that have occurred.**

**NEXT UPDATE: BETWEEN OCTOBER 28,2014 THROUGH OCTOBER 209, 2014 DUE TO ME REEDITING THIS CHAPTER A LITTLE BIT, AND I HAVE BEEN BUSY SETTING UP AN NETWORK YESTERDAY.**

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**Original Notes:**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Just making sure you guys got it ;D. I was pleased with the amount of reviews for last chapter, so let's keep it up like that ;D. Also, I ask you all follow me on my account, so you can get updates to the story without having to sift through pages, also, you will get access to other stories I will be writing after this so no one gets confused. Now, for REVIEWS!**

**-lovedystopia, Thanks again for your awesome review! I have pokemon x/y, do you too? I will be getting Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. I'm going with Omega Ruby, since fire types are my favorite. Also, what state or time zone do you live in? I ask this because your perception of time seems similar to mine... How funny would it be if we lived in the same town?! Also, if you want my friend code, just ask!**

**-StoryMaker, You hit it right on the head! Lou Ellen is on the quest, yes. I'm shocked you nailed it ;D.**

**-SonofAll, Really?! As a fellow guy to guy, I'm shocked, lol. My story turned you off three women? That makes me feel happy, yet in a creepy way too that you're appreciating this story lol. Anyway, there's a bit of romanticism in this chapter to kind of make up for that ;D. **

**Court and Guest, You'll find out ;D.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Uncle Rick... As if *cough***

**I will warn you guys, this chapter is a bit more romantic, and the first reason for the T rating pops up a bit here. Good luck, and I hope I did okay...**

***Also, and yes, I acknowledge the fact of some words in this chapter not existing, after all, I gotta convey the mind of a demigod though ;D.**

**So, without further ado, I give you...**

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**IX. Piper**

**Piper wasn't expecting to see a cyclops throw a club at her**. But then again, her life wasn't really normal. Besides being a vegetarian, murderer of a eons old earth goddess, and a charmspeaking demigod, she was sure she was okay. "Take cover!" shouted Lou Ellen as she ducked behind a creaking steel beam. Around her, Hazel and Jason scrambled for cover under some dangling, broken cranes. "HIYAHH!" yelled Jason as he swerved his hand, while gusting winds whirled around Piper's head, crushing the cyclops under tons of rubble. "GRAHHH!" yelled a second cyclops, charging Piper with a extremely large stick. At that moment, Piper felt as if she was a matador, herding bulls at the rodeo. With a yell, she somersaulted under the cyclops, stabbing Katoptris in the extremely large right thigh of that green, hairy beast. Well, Piper was sure the cyclops was terrible, it was the hairiest one she had seen in her life. Which was saying a lot, considering she's faced down thousands upon thousands of bloodthirsty monsters. "GWAH!" yelled the cyclops as it hobbled down on the cement floor. "Piper!" exclaimed Hazel, crawling out of her hideaway, "You alright?" With a nod, Piper jogged over to the cyclops. Around her, Jason, Lou Ellen, and Hazel surrounded the cyclops, swords at the ready. Basically, it was a collection of dangerous, pointy objects against an ugly face.

"P-please," whimpered the cyclops, "Spare me!" Piper knew that voice was fake, it had lead her in FAR too many traps. Dangling over a boiling cauldron wasn't one of the favorite things she had done. "And what do I get from it?" growled Lou Ellen, pressing the tip of her sword deeper in the cyclops' neck. Piper thought Lou Ellen was kind of scary right now, but that was warranted considering she was having a bad day. First, Conner Stoll dyed her hair bright green this morning, and she was attacked by a feral raccoon halfway through their trek in this abandoned shipyard. Honestly, Piper was shocked Lou hadn't lost it by now. "ANYTHING!" screamed the cyclops, a tear protruding from it's eye. "Lou," butted in Jason, pushing her aside. Glaring at the cyclops, "Where's the grannies?" Jason demanded. "W-why would I say-, GWAHHH!" yelled the cyclops as a sword pressed closer to his eye. "OKAY, OKAY! I DON'T KNOW!" Piper had to groan, they traveled halfway across the Atlantic coast, to the shipyards in Hampton Roads, Virginia, for nothing. Riding a sled behind Arion wasn't fun at all, more like taking a trip in a blender. Hazel was thrilled though, Piper swore she hollered like a madman all the way down the coast.

Okay, maybe the information the Olympians gave them were a little off. Well, scratch that, WAY OFF. Piper flash-backed to the meeting with the gods barely hours ago. _"Quite honestly, we really don't know," thundered Zeus. "What do you mean you don't know?" retorted Lou Ellen, gripping her staff tightly. As usual, they were meeting in the throne room of Olympus, with fifteen highly powerful blasty immortals. "There there dear," smiled Hecate, rising from her throne, "What Zeus means to say, is that we simply don't know where they are." "So," stepped in Jason, "You all can't see either?" "There should be a cyclops informant somewhere in Virginia," butted in Hades, "We have reason to suspect he's working for whoever's facing us." "Trust me," grumbled Hermes, "If we could do this, I would certainly blast him." The mood in the room shifted as eighteen pairs of eyes rested to Zeus. "Er, well, just hop to it," muttered Zeus. Piper felt the urge to roll her eyes, Zeus was one for dramatics. Not to mention the irony, considering the lord of the sky had a secret fear of bunnies. Hera accidentally let it slip one time, making Zeus the laughingstock of the entire Greek and Roman schism._

And now, here they were, facing said cyclops, which oddly looked like a close relative of Bigfoot. "But I know one thing!" stuttered the cyclops, "Eris can certainly tell you where they are!" "And where is she?" questioned Hazel, leaning closer. "And why-," the cyclops started, interrupted by yet more painful screaming. Piper was convinced the guy could easily pass for the world's best yodeler. "NASHVILLE, NASHVILLE!" yelled the cyclops. "Thanks," said Lou Ellen with a sickly smile, "NOW EAT THIS!" Lou then proceeded to shove her sword in the middle of the cyclops' eye. He barely had time to shriek before erupting in a pile of goo. Splatting all over them, Piper felt sick. This was the reason why she didn't eat meat, she was sure she would puke. Widening her eyes, Piper was also a little unnerved by Lou's savagery, and she could tell poor Hazel was too. "Uh, guys," stated Hazel, "I think-," and she was cut off by puking all over Jason. "ACK!" yelled Jason, as a half gallon's worth of liquid shrimp got dunked all over his clothes. Rolling over the ground, he desperately tried getting the smell off. Piper sighed, Jason was as dramatic as his dad these days. Sheathing Katoptris, she tapped Jason, "Hey Sparky, get up!" "No... Too.. Weak!" he stuttered out, before pulling Piper down with him. "GAH, SPARKY!" yelled Piper.

Before bathing in puke with Jason, Piper was just hoping all this would go smoothly. After all, it couldn't be hard breaking in something, rescuing old grannies, and getting out, right? Sadly, it usually wasn't simple for demigods like them. For all Piper knew, the grannies would bat their heads over with clubs if they tried to get out. The Fates were pretty well known for screwing with people's lives after all. "Uh guys," stated Hazel, "You might want to, you know, get off?" "I'm going to be sick at this rate," muttered Lou Ellen. Scrambling up, Piper smacked Jason on the arm, eliciting a yelp from him. "That's for puking me Sparky," she muttered. "Didn't Hazel technically-," began Jason. "Ah, just forget it," said Piper. Her day wasn't really going all that great. "We should probably camp up," stated Lou Ellen, shaking Piper out of her thoughts. Gazing around the perimeter of the shipyard, Lou started chanting spells, masking their presence from nearby monsters. Piper shuddered as she felt a layer of fine mist envelope them, obscuring them from plain sight. Piper felt envious for Lou Ellen, being a daughter of Hecate certainly did have it's advantages.

Rustling in the bag, Hazel pulled out several camping tents, a fridge, four flashlights, and a electric fire. Again, thanks to Lou Ellen, the green five-pound bag Hazel held could contain as much items as they wanted. Piper found that insanely useful, considering they needed as much help as they could get on yet another doomsday quest. But hey, just another day in the life of a demigod. Gazing at the sunset, Piper wondered what was going to happen. Would she ever see it again? Well, she was sure about that dozens of times already. But hey, after countless doomsday quests, they were still here after all. Approaching behind her, Jason gripped her waist. "Whatcha doing?" he smiled, kissing down her neck. Piper shuddered, Jason freaking needed to stop making her lose focus! One time, Hazel walked in on them, and the poor girl wouldn't go within twenty feet of Piper for a full month. Sometimes, Piper felt sympathetic for Hazel, having being born from the old traditions of the nineteen-forties. It made her SO much better with the socially awkward Frank too. Piper held back a shriek, she WORSHIPPED Frazel. And Caleo, and Percabeth, and... okay, getting off topic. She really hated her Aphrodite side showing off like this sometimes.

"Beignets ready!" exclaimed Hazel. Piper swerved over to the now fully-furnished camp, with Jason in tow. She followed the wafting smell of beignets, which Hazel genuinely loved to cook. "Oh, FOOD...," moaned Jason, and Piper's stomach did a somersault. Laid on a blanket included: shrimp gumbo, beignets, turkey, fries, corn, and all that _mumbo jumbo_. Leaning down to reach for some fries, Piper's hand was smacked by Lou-Ellen's. "Nuh uh," repled Lou, "Change first!" "You guys do kind of stink," said Hazel, scrunching up her nose. Rolling her eyes, Piper grabbed a change of clothes in the bag, and ducked in the nearest tent with Jason behind her. Unzipping her lavender jacket and proceeding to change, she felt Jason's hand cover her eyes. "Mind if I help you with that?" smirked Jason. Piper scoffed, "You've helped enough today Sparky, thank you." Quite honestly, she didn't mind changing around Jason, they certainly knew each other, erm, well enough for that. Jason shrugged, taking off his green t-shirt, and Piper felt the urge not to drool at his toned six-pack. Changing into a pink top, Piper watched Jason finish, mostly drooling the whole time.

Seizing his hand, Piper dragged Jason outside to a waiting Hazel and Lou Ellen. "OM NOM!" grunted Jason, diving into the food like a pig. Hazel and Lou Ellen exchanged a look. Boys. Piper thought it was kind of cute. Plus, none of them hadn't really eaten since seven A.M. that morning. Shrugging it off, Piper grabbed some fries and corn, wolfing them down. Man, Hazel REALLY knew how to cook. Piper honestly didn't know how Hazel managed to befriend the harpies at camp, they usually wolfed down demigods. Harpies were surprisingly good cooks, and they gave Hazel a hand. In all, Piper was pretty satisfied on the way the quest started. They could be on the streets, bumming for food for all they liked. But yet here they were, enjoying a nice fire, safe and sound from monsters, with food in their begging stomachs. "Mm, so good," moaned Lou Ellen as she wolfed down a turkey leg. Piper felt sympathetic for the poor turkey, and a little turned off too. Besides them, Hazel sipped on some gumbo soup, reveling in the taste. Piper felt SO good right now, pushing the thought of saving old hags out of her mind. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say, the Fates could definitely screw them over. "Eh, whatever," thought Piper, their lives were pretty much that during apocalypses.

In all, Piper was having a pretty hectic day. Just six hours ago, she happened to volunteer for another doomsday quest, meet with all-powerful immortals, and take a sleigh ride on a cursing horse. Piper was surprised Jason was the first one to volunteer for the quest, going as so far to yell it out. Lou Ellen then volunteered, since they needed a magician, and then so did Hazel. Now Piper volunteered, and she really wasn't sure why. Gee, as soon as they volunteered, they immediately _just had _to be instantly teleported to Olympus. Piper felt bad she didn't even get to talk to Leo some more, considering he sort of came back from the dead. Piper made a mental note to get Leo a_ welcome back from the dead_ gift later. It felt like a gust of blast from some _venti_, her best friend coming back from the dead, having a fiance, and going on another suicide quest. Just another day in the life of an average demigod. If it wasn't for that, Piper was sure that she would have gone crazy a long time ago.

"Ima-going,-" yawned Hazel as she crawled into her tent, disposing of her junk. "Turning in," muttered Lou Ellen, as she crawled into hers as well. Balling up her trash, Piper nudged Jason. With a smirked, he closed his eyes, and a small flash of lighting struck the trash, turning it to ashes. Piper grinned, Jason could be a natural garbage man. Solving all the world's trash one at a time! Crawling in her tent while Jason cleaned up, Piper's thoughts reflected to her future. Surely, as Lou Ellen and Hazel volunteered for the quest, so did she for the hope of all this being over. Piper was sure she already had enough excitement in her life. Just get in, get the Fates, destroy the threat, and get out, that's all. Then hopefully she could start planning her wedding. Stifling a girlish giggle, "He proposed, he proposed!" exclaimed Piper over and over in her mind. That fool Jason finally got the nerve to propose! Piper was waiting for this moment for countless months. But no, they had to go on another death-defying quest. Piper knew Jason was doing this out of duty, wanting to protect everyone. Piper smiled, that was one of the things she loved about him. But she was worried, would they make it out of this? Oh, of course, probably. She was probably just overreacting. After all, facing down a powerful earth goddess puts a new penchant on life.

Pulling off her shorts, Piper groaned as she snuggled into her sleeping bag. It was bright red, with warm insulation. Piper kind of wished she had her old stuffed bears from her dad's Malibu mansion with her. They would make great cuddling partners! "AGH!" shouted someone from outside. With a start, Piper recognized the voice as Jason. Pulling herself out of her sleeping bag, Piper wondered just what Jason was doing. Jason crashed through the flap of the tent, his glasses disheveled and a crazy look on his face. "P-Pipes," he gasped, "I swear to you, these raccoons...!" "These creepy little things have been looking at me all day!" Piper felt the urge to roll her eyes, what could be so wrong about fluffy little raccoons? They were just so cute, licking their cute little paws, chittering like nobody's business. Eh, they just probably didn't like Jason and Lou Ellen. Piper remembered this one time a raccoon ran on a golf course. On one of her little 'excursions', she noticed a raccoon run on a golf course, stealing a ball, and running into a tree. She suppressed a giggle, she was really going far off topic right now. "Murgh," groaned Jason, as he wiggled in the sleeping bag with Piper. Piper sighed, she was content, even if it meant she was heading toward her doom. Laying her head on Jason's chest, Piper dozed off listening to his deep breaths.

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	10. X: Piper

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Please guys, only lovedystopian reviewed... Where is everyone? Anyway, I acknowlege that chapter 9 wasn't probably the best... I apologize as it was 11;o'clock that night, and dad was yelling at me to get off, which scrambled me a lot. Thanks to lovedystopian, I've scaled down the romance a bit, and inserted an explanation paragraph on how they've gotten on the quest so suddenly. This is what the reviews are for! So I know if I'm doing okay! So reread chapter 9 if you can, it's still probably not the best, but I tried. This was my first time ever really going in deep romance, so I may have gotten too far off topic, and I apologize. This chapter is much better though, and it's packed with action, hopefully it makes up for last chapter!**

**-lovedystopia, Wow, you must have really been in a bad mood lol. I did take some of your suggestions in mind and adjusted a bit of Chapter 9, so thanks! Piper is a bit harder for me to grasp, as she is emotional, unlike the Greek-Spockness of Annabeth or the lame jokes of Leo. So sorry! Your harsh review hit me like a sledgehammer, over and over with criticism lol. But I do thank you for being honest with me, and that's what I like so much about you. You're honest and review every chapter I do. It lets me know how I'm doing, and how I can improve my writing further. I always look forward to all your reviews! I hope you like this chapter better, it explains ALOT. Not to mention, packed with action ;D. Looking forward to your next review! *Cough put good stuff cough***

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick Riordian...**

***I acknowledge the nonexistence of some words in this chapter. **

**So, without further ado...**

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**X: Piper**

**Piper wasn't expecting the commotion**. Well, at least that was her thought as she woke up the next morning. Untangling herself from Jason's arms, she pulled on a pair of denim shorts and crawled out of her tent. Rubbing her eyes, Piper walked over to the dockyard pier, and saw Hazel standing there, bending the Mist to her will. Vivid images of horses and other magical creatures danced around Piper's eyes. "Hey Haze," yawned Piper. With a start, Hazel turned around, "Hey Pipes!" she grinned. Flicking her wrist, Hazel dissolved the Mist around her into the breeze. "So, how didja sleep?" Hazel stated. "Ya-gooda-," yodeled Piper, patting Hazel on the back. Well, Piper was sure she slept as well as she could without any crazy monsters chasing after them. Honestly, she was still a little fidgety after all the commotion yesterday. "Beautiful sunrise, huh?" questioned Hazel, watching the sun rise over the horizon. Piper smiled, they were sort of busy avoiding their near-possible deaths to bother watching sunrises lately these days. "Sure is," smiled Piper, turning back to the camp, with Hazel in tow.

Piper saw Lou Ellen tending to the fire, er well, flicking on the electric light on and off. With a drool, she noticed the cinnamon breakfast strudels now laid out on china plates. Why they had china plates on a quest, Piper really didn't know. It probably was best not to ask. "Gooooodd morning ladies!" boomed Jason, stretching out of his tent. Piper groaned, Jason slept like a dead centaur when he wasn't faced with death. "Good morning to you, lightning boy," muttered Lou Ellen, focusing concentration on the lamp in front of her. Snickering, Hazel joined Lou Ellen and Jason at the base of the fire. "Hey Sparky," retorted Piper as she plopped herself on Jason's lap. "So, where do we stand?" asked Hazel. "Well, I suppose we go to Nashville," stated Lou Ellen, "Finding Eris there is a start, at least." "Eris?" questioned Hazel, "Isn't she the goddess of chaos?" A shred of memory ignited in the back of Piper's head, "She started the Trojan War, of course!" "Makes sense then," frowned Jason, "Wanting to start another war."

Piper was confused though. Eris was given tribute at both camps, so why was she rebelling? On the odd hand, however, her temple was the one to blow up first. Surely, that had to be connected somehow? And if that was connected..., then why did several other godly temples explode? Piper was pretty sure by now all this had to be connected, maybe someone was controlling the others? "But what does this have to do with the Fates?" said Jason. Piper had to gulp, there weren't many beings out there controlling multiple gods, and kidnapping old grannies all at the same time. "My guess," butted in Lou Ellen, "This is personal, after all, chaos is running rampart." Piper felt inclined to agree, the revolt of miserable godlings, and the absence of destiny itself was really starting to unnerve some people. Just an hour before Leo showed up, she had to break up a half dozen fights with her charmspeak, and it was just getting worse and worse. In case people hadn't noticed, not many people actually wanted to stop fighting, making charmspeak that much harder.

With a moment of silence, Hazel interrupted, "I don't like this guys, my senses are going off..." "You mean underworld sense?" questioned Piper. Hazel was kind of confusing these days, with Mist sense, underground sense, and whatever. Piper swore she was running through a replica of the labyrinth. "N-no," stuttered Hazel, turning to Lou Ellen, " Lou? Do you feel that?" "What do you-," Lou was cut off, "HAZEL! Watch out!" Hazel was interrupted by Lou Ellen shoving her out of the way. All of a sudden, Piper noticed a dark streak of blackness slam into the ground Hazel was just in. Piper widened her eyes as another shade of black shoot in her direction. She made a move to duck it, but Jason did it first. "Pipes!" he cried, also shoving her out of the way. "Jason!" cried Piper as she saw the shade crash into his chest, sending him backwards into the nearest wall. "NOO!" yelled Hazel, waving her hands, as Mist erupted out of seemingly thin air. With a gape, Piper saw Hazel wave her hands, as thick Mist swirled around the two black blobs, masking them from her sight. "Move! I'll hold them off!" yelled Hazel.

With a cry, Piper pulled Jason back, ignoring his unconscious groans. "MOVE!" yelled Lou. With a battle cry, Lou Ellen unsheathed Diancer, her magical staff, and slammed it into the ground. A pure white bolt of energy smashed into one of the blobs, seemingly erasing it from existence. With a jerk of her head, Piper noticed the shade reappearing. "Gah, those things just won't die!" she thought. Pulling out Razorback, the jagged sword she obtained from Zethes the Boread, Piper charged the shade. All the while, she shuddered at having to remember Zethes. She would NEVER kiss him, nor ever marry him, no way in Hades she would! She was taken, obviosly by a far handsomer, kinder, and unconscious man! Rage filled her, remembering Jason's impact, as Piper swung her sword at the blob. With a gasp of shock, Piper released the handle as a hand shot out, and absorbed her sword. "TAKE THIS!" yelled Lou, sliding under Piper, and throwing a knife. Once again, the shade absorbed the weapon, and vanished. "Keep form!" shouted Hazel, as the three girls stood back to back. "W-what are these things?" stammered Piper. They certainly were never mentioned in Grandpa Tom's old Cherokee stories.

With a rush, more and more shades surrounded Piper, until over a dozen of them were swirling around. "What's the plan?" muttered Hazel. "This!" yelled Lou Ellen, "Est Maeta Landa!" she shouted as a pure ball of blue energy smacked a shadow, blasting it to bits. Piper had to smile, at least something good was coming out of their day so far. Her grin slacked as, you guessed it, the shadow reformed. "OH COME ON!" yelled Piper. "WHY CAN'T WE GET A BREAK?!" shouted Lou. "MOVE BACK!" boomed Hazel. With a mad scramble, Piper dashed as fast as she could, with Hazel and Lou Ellen right on her heels. "Help me-e, with Jason," gasped Piper, as she pulled one of his arms. Hazel grabbed Jason's right arm, dragging him as well as she could. Piper had to groan, why did her fiance have to be so HEAVY! He better not have been eating these twinkies again... For some reason, Jason was crazily obsessed with twinkies. One time, on a dare, he stuffed twenty-four in his mouth. Even for a demigod, Piper found it impressive. Shaking out of her thoughts, she was getting lethargic. Lou Ellen was desperately trying her best, but it wasn't easy fending off unkillable blobs.

In all, Piper felt a sense of irony. First killing a pile of goo that was once a cyclops, and now they were going to die at the hands of blobs. With a gasp, Piper tripped over an steel overlay, sending Lou Ellen and Hazel crashing over her. With a shudder, Piper felt a sense of dread as the shadows approached. "Well, I guess this is it," stifled Lou Ellen. "Oh, Frank!" sobbed Hazel. Piper closed her eyes, preparing for the end. "PATHETIC DEMIGODS," boomed a new voice. Opening her eyes, Piper saw one of the shades morph into a shadow of a person. Twisting and turning, the shade gained the face of Drew, former head of the Aphrodite cabin. "W-what are you doing here?" gasped Piper, fumbling for Katoptris. "FOOLS, WE ARE THE MARDAI, OPPRESSION OF ENEMIES, YOUR HATED NEMESISES!" echoed Drew's voice. "NOW, PREPARE TO DIE!" With a wave of her hand, the fake Drew beckoned the additional waiting Mardai. With a strangle, Hazel pulled out her cavalry sword, and swung it around. "PATHETIC WITCH!" moaned another Mardai, dissolving the sword. Hazel's face went pale, as she struggled for help. Piper knew they were dead, if it wasn't for fake Drew being punched in the face by a god.

"Back off my daughter!" roared Hades, as fake Drew slammed into a wall. Piper's eyes widened as Hades conjured a force-field, and releasing it in a firey inferno. With a wail, half of the Mardai vaporized instantly. With a struggle, Piper got to her feet and raised Katoptris. "Girl!" roared Hades, keep them distracted!" With a nod, and fear of angering the master of death, quite literally, Piper leaped into action. "Duck, drop, dive," she thought as she zoomed past the shades, and unfortunately the ones that were reforming. "GAH! WHY AREN'T THEY OBLIBERATED?" screamed Hades. "Don't ask me lord!" said Piper, ducking past another Mardai. "Yahhh!" yelled Hazel, throwing a small pocketknife at a Mardai watching Hades. "G-WACK!" choked the Mardai, collapsing face-first, and dissolving completely. And this, time, Piper was shocked it STAYED dead. "Hazel! How did you do that?" questioned Piper. "I-I don't know, I just stabbed in the back.. and-,"started Hazel. "Jupiter's underpants!" vented Hades, "It'll only work if they're focusing on someone else!" With a shock, Piper realized the Mardai were nothing more than your greatest nemesis. The only thing they were worth for was bringing out the anger in people, their anger toward their archrivals. But behind their back..., that's where the kill spot was. Well, it was kind of ironic, yet expected, considering you're supposed to technically backstab your archrivals. With the Mardai, it was literal backstabbing.

"Pipes! Watch out!" yelled Lou Ellen, desperately trying to reach her. With surprise, Piper whirled around to face a Mardai charging her. "For N-!" the Mardai was cut short from a blast from Hades. That wretched beast dissolved in a literal pile of black paper. "Great," thought Piper, she might as well jot down her life story while she was at it. Piper's battle instincts were on alert, facing in as much Mardai as she could. Turning to face one of the Mardai, "Mmm, you're so tired, aren't you?" "MMM," agreed the Mardai, it's blobby shape starting to waver. "Why don't you just relax?" soothed Piper. "Re-," as the Mardai was blown into pieces by a well aim blast from Lou Ellen and her trusty Diancer. "Good work Pipes!" shouted Lou. Piper noticed the rest of the Mardai were converging on Hazel, morphing into shapes Piper didn't recognize. She saw the face of Octavian, minus the screaming like a little girl, a face that looked oddly like it could be Hazel's mother, and several others. "GWAHGANN!" bellowed Hades, smashing into the ground, ejecting tendrils of black lightning, vaporizing the remaining Mardai.

With a mad scramble, Piper rushed over to Jason, who was miraculously untouched during the fight. "W-Wha?" he muttered as he opened his eyes. "Uh, Pipes? What happened here?" Piper had to chuckle, Jason always missed everything. "Gee Sparky, you need to stop with the head injuries!" she smirked. "Owch, I need some Advil or something," he groaned. "Can you stand?" questioned Piper. With a shaky nod, Jason hobbled to his feet. Feeling a shiver around her, Piper turned to face the dissolved shadows all whooshing toward a emerging figure. "Ah, Thanatos," muttered Hades as the shadows sucked into a tin can Thanatos opened. "My lord Hades," droned Thanatos striding over to Hades' side. "What was that?!" butted in Lou Ellen. Piper was pretty sure they really wanted to know, after all, they sort of did try to kill them. Meh, it usually happened almost every day anyway. "Spirits of souls, the spawn of wretched night," muttered Thanatos. "This is not good," frowned Hades, "If even the Mardai could escape from their prison, something big's coming..." "Gee, obvious much?" thought Piper. If stupid little prison escapees could attack them, something BETTER be wrong!

"F-father?" stuttered Hazel, inching out of a corner. "Ah, dear daughter," smiled Hades, creeping toward her. If this wasn't so creepy, Piper was sure she would enjoy this father/daughter moment. After all, how often can an all-powerful zombie god pop up to say hello? "Ah joy," thrummed Thanatos, "Touchy-feely ickyness!" Piper was sure Thanatos certainly wouldn't enjoy pink, it certainly wouldn't be his style. In fact, he would probably rather kill, er, okay, that was rather ironic. As Hades hugged Hazel, Piper tried hard not to snicker. Poor Hazel looked out of place hugging a deathly pale god. "B-but, aren't you supposed..?" stammered Hazel. Piper was confused, what was Hazel implying? "Ah, well, for all I know, you could just be projecting from Asphodel after all...," smirked Hades. "And you could just be a image...," smiled Hazel. Piper made a note to ask Hazel just what the.., er, Hades, was going on with this little lovefest here. "You best get moving," droned Thanatos, "I sense more incoming..."

"I agree," stated Hades, "Find Eris in Nashville, and get us that information!" "Lady Artemis has been contacted, her Hunters will shield you," butted in Thanatos. Next to Piper, Jason lit up with a surprise on his face. Piper had to smile, Jason was getting closer with Thalia these days, with the Hunters' more frequent visits and whatnot. And for the first time ever, the Hunters were FINALLY defeated in a round of capture the flag. Score one for Camp Half-Blood! Piper really didn't know how she managed to make five hunters slap themselves, but at least they won. "I'm sure I can-," started Jason. "And absolutely not!" shoved in Hazel, "You're riding on Arion, no buts about it!" Piper shot Jason a sympathetic look, the last time he rid Arion wasn't fun. The poor horse had an aneurysm, bucking Jason off and conking him to the ground. Next to Piper, Lou Ellen's face turned a new shade of green. Piper really didn't know what all the fuss was about, Arion was a sweet horse, at least to her and Hazel. "They're coming NOW! GO!" yelled Thanatos. "We'll cover you up top," stated Hades. With a tweet, Hazel whistled for Arion. Looking on the horizon, Piper saw a stream of vapor kick up, rapidly reaching them. The form of Arion skidded to a halt in front of Hazel, nuzzling her hand.

"Jason, come on!" shouted Piper, nudging him toward Arion. Piper swore the horse's eyes bulged out of his sockets when he saw Jason climbing on his back. "Shh," soothed Hazel, patting Arion's mane. Arion settled down long enough for Piper and Lou Ellen to climb on behind Jason. "We can obscure your progress from the Mardai somewhat," said Thanatos. "Good luck, all of you..." stated Hades, in a deep voice. Piper hoped they could get away, but at the same time, she choked up. Here were two gods holding off the enemy long enough for them to escape. The Mardai must really be that difficult if it really came to that. "Incoming Hades!" boomed Thanatos as Hades lit up his right hand with a swirl of black flame. "GO ARION!" yelled Hazel, spurring him on. Piper felt like she suffered a case of boomburst, her stomach ripped apart with all the food she consumed. "GAHHHHH!" screamed Jason, his face blubbering like a fat baby. As Arion cleared the dockyards, Piper turned back to see the shadows consume the two waiting gods. "Well, to Nashville we go...," she thought.

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	11. XI: Piper

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**Heyo guys! Apologies for the slightly late chapter. Our hub on my Minecraft Server Network got deleted, because my partner didn't bother to back it up, lol. I had to pitch in to rebuild yesterday. The chapter would've been up then, but that happened. Down to reviews!**

**-lovedystopia, Thanks for the nice review, lol. That means you owe me two reviews! I look forward to seeing them! You'll just have to wait and see... What happens...**

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**-court, Thanks! I'm glad I had you laughing!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Uncle Rick!**

**Next Update: November 6, 2014, by 10:00 EST**

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**XI: Piper**

**Until the ropes flew out**, Piper thought they were doing pretty okay. Besides the fact of Jason screaming like a little girl, Lou Ellen puking, and Hazel hollering, riding Arion was pretty fun. Jason wasn't really scoring any manly points on Piper's scale. With a sigh, she shook it off. Taking in the woodsy view, forest after forest zoomed across Piper's eyes.

Riding Arion was like one big roller coaster, even screaming and puking was included!

"Go! Hyah!" shouted Hazel, spurring Arion on.

Piper swore the horse had a crazy look in his eye, but then again, most godly horses were. How Arion was the son of two gods..., Piper really didn't want to know. With a stream of vapor, Arion burst across a distinct river, across a sign Piper could barely flash as "Welcome to Kentucky!" Great, Kentucky, backwoods state. Piper personally didn't have anything against Kentucky, but the dozens of herds of Party Ponies happening to live there sort of dampened the mood.

"Shhh," said Piper, soothingly rubbing Jason's back as he continued to scream for his life. If Jason couldn't just keep it down, Piper was going to have to withdraw cuddle time from him! Shame, it was kind of fun having cuddle time.

"H-Hazel," chattered Lou Ellen, "Is there an off button on this thing?"

"Arion is free! Literally!" yelled Hazel, "He runs like the wind!" Gee, Piper was pretty sure the horse could actually run faster than the wind could.

"WEEEEPH!" chirped an extremely loud alarm. The resonance forced Piper to cover her ears, and Arion halted to a stop. All of a sudden, six ropes snapped up from the ground, tripping up Arion, and pulling him into a tree.

"G-ack!" yelled Hazel and Lou Ellen as they were snagged into the trees as well. Piper immediately felt a sense of vertigo, with her vision turning upside down.

Jason slammed into the root of a tree, with a welt on his forehead.

"Owch," thought Piper, "That HAD to hurt!"

"Cut the ropes!" shouted Lou Ellen, fumbling for a knife.

Piper reached for Razorback, and felt nothing but empty space. "In the name of Aphrodite...," she muttered. Curse these STUPID Mardai for dissolving her sword! At least Katoptris was safe, and Piper sneaked it out of her short attachment.

Flailing Katoptris around, Piper reached for the rope under her ankle. The most she could tell was that they were near some sort of forest clearing. It could be a nice day for a picnic, excluding a conked out son of Zeus, three squirming girls, and an angry horse doing the maraca. Hazel grunted in frustration, and punched the tree closest to her. Piper knew she was angry, her sword was gone. On the bright side, at least none of them were wearing any dresses!

"Demigods?" butted in a new voice.

Piper shook her heady wildly, and rested her eyes on a girl with silver eyes emerging from the forest.

"Who are you?!" angrily stated Lou Ellen, brandishing her staff. The girl cocked her head.

"Dear, you do not recognize me? I am Artemis, goddess of the Hunt..."

Piper's eyes widened, so this was Artemis, up close. Sure, Piper had seen her a couple of times, but not really in this situation.

"My lady-," started another voice, "Jason, what?!"

Piper saw a lean girl, with punk-style clothing and a silver tiara adorning her head rush to Jason's dangling side. Of course, the form of Thalia Grace started tending to her brother's head.

Piper grinned mentally, behind all that goth and rough style, Thalia could have a heart of gold sometimes. With a start, Piper realized Thalia would be her future sister in law... now that could come in handy sometimes! Wait, that was mostly a bad idea after all...

"Hunters, release them at once!" stated Artemis, as dozens of girls streamed out of the forest, with knives in hand.

Piper thought they could almost pass for a class of cookers, minus the annoyed look on their faces. The Hunters were dressed in silver parkas, even though it was the middle of summer. Snarling wolves drifted by their side, smelling the dangling forms of Hazel and Lou Ellen.

Piper immediately felt her vision spin around as the rope around her ankle was cut. She whirled backwards, landing in the arms of Artemis herself. Piper always imagined it would be the other way around, in the arms of Jason... Okay, this was kind of embarrassing to say the least.

"Piper McLean," frowned Artemis, "Why have you plopped yourself in my arms like a newborn child?"

Piper groaned, she might as well be a newborn, compared to Artemis' age.

Artemis was looking pretty good for a goddess who was..., three-thousand, four-thousand years old? Eh, immortals, you REALLY didn't want to know their age. Piper scrambled out of Artemis' arms and plopped down to the ground. Around her, Hazel and Lou Ellen groaned, rubbing their ankles from obvious rope burns. Thalia cradled Jason in her arms on a nearby rock.

"Wh-a?" muttered Jason as he drifted into consciousness.

"Bro!" yelled Thalia. Jason jerked his head back in shock, slammed against the rock, and passed out again.

Piper groaned, Jason's official new nickname was Advil Boy.

"Mmm, a quest group of three girls," muttered Artemis, "At least they're doing something right..."

Piper heard Artemis was an feminist, but wasn't this taking it slightly a bit too far?

"W-what are you doing here?" groaned Hazel, struggling up from the ground.

"We were ordered here by our lady," butted in a girl with black princess curls from the corner. She had pale, milk-colored skin, and emerald eyes. Several herbs were smushed in her hand, as she approached Piper's side.

"This is going to sting," muttered the girl. Piper fought back a scream as she applied a paste to her scorched ankle.

Great, small girls could be battlefield medics these days, which was slightly ironic in a way Piper was sure she didn't want to talk about.

"Lord Hades gave us an info tip," piped in Thalia from the corner, "Said we may run into you sometime..."

"And surprise in a way," grumbled Artemis, smoothing her silver parka,

"We thought you were monsters."

"BWEAATTT!" neighed Arion from the ground, "GEGG! WHINNYEH!"

Artemis smiled, "I thought you were better than that old friend!"

"HAAAAAAHEH! GEEEEH!" whirred Arion.

"That was rude," huffed Artemis.

Okay, Piper was sure it wasn't every day that an all-powerful goddess and a cursing horse could understand each other.

"Your, er, friend has informed me on your situation," said Artemis,

"You best rest at our camp. Er, and Hazel dear," started Artemis.

"Y-yes my lady?" ventured Hazel.

"I believe this is yours," smirked Artemis, handing Hazel back her cavalry sword. Hazel's face lit up in happiness.

"B-but how?" said Lou Ellen, getting up to her feet, "I thought they were dissolved?"

Artemis' silver eyes gazed through Lou Ellen, making her shudder. Piper really didn't want to be on the end of that.

"You're asking an eons-old goddess on how she got a simple sword back?" smiled Artemis.

"Um, good point my lady," ventured Lou.

**~~~~~O~O~~~~~**

Piper exhaled the warm breath of chicken soup. It had only been a simple two-minute trek back to the hunters' camp in the woods. Besides two girls dragging a groaning Jason across the forest floor, things were going dandy. Piper swore the girls giggled every time Jason's head bonked a root or rock. Her heart ached for her fiance, but beggars can't really be choosers anyway.

"Hey," croaked Jason, as Piper laid her head on his lap. He was holding an ice-pack over his throbbing head. After a couple pills of Advil, Jason was starting to feel a little bit better. Emphasis on little.

"So bro," whatcha been up to?" smirked Thalia, hanging her arm across Jason's other shoulder.

Piper was hoping Jason would feel kind of happy right now, being surrounded by the two most important women in his life. Well, an just-shy of adulthood and an eternal maiden, that is.

"Besides a pounding headache, pretty okay," groaned Jason.

"Mardai are running rampart everywhere," butted in Artemis, as everyone, including Piper, swooped in to listen. "Hades and Thanatos are barely fending them off as it is!"

"What are Mardai anyway?" questioned Lou Ellen from a nearby log.

"Ancient evils," muttered Artemis, "A spawn from the depths of creation, barely muttered as it is."

A girl Piper recognized as Britta leaned forward, "Creation?" she asked. "This is not the time and place to discuss it as of now," stated Artemis. The mood around the campfire darkened, and Piper shivered.

"As I am aware," said Artemis, breaking the silence, "You must go to Nashville, is this correct?"

"Yes ma'am," stated Lou Ellen. Artemis crossed her legs, with a deep train of thought forming in her mind. P

Piper thought it was kind of odd, but then again, immortals usually had very screwed up lives.

"While in the city," she frowned, "You must seek out The Shrine of Souls."

Piper was confused, she was pretty sure she hadn't heard of that thing before.

"What is that?" questioned Hazel, turning her head to face the silvery eyes of Artemis.

"A touch, a whisper to the souls below," muttered Artemis, "The Shrine should shed some light on our situation here."

Okay, Piper was pretty sure that didn't make any sense, but whatever. It was basically a free clue pass!

"You best hurry," stated Artemis, "Beings even I had forgotten, are stirring all over the place..."

Piper thought that just had to be great, another ordinary day of having no idea what they were going up against. But hey, it was making her feel better that at least the gods were paying attention, and even interacting, to say the least.

"AWK!" screamed a distant voice. Artemis immediately jerked her head around, and drew her bow. All around Piper, the rest of the fifty hunters gathered also drew theirs.

"Go, NOW," growled Artemis. "But didn't we just-," started Jason, standing up gingerly.

"Come on Advil Boy, we don't have time for this!" exclaimed Piper, dragging Jason behind her. "Wait, Advil Boy? Where did that come from?" questioned Jason.

Piper was sure they could have left by now if it wasn't for Jason's continuing bombardment of questions.

"Piper," said Thalia, a look of concern on her face, "Watch him for me, okay?"

Piper nodded, Thalia could be really scary when she wanted to be.

"Here," said Artemis, handing Piper back Razorback.

Well, at least Piper had her nice and pointy sword back. Razorback could be far handier than Katoptris at times. At least the sword didn't give Piper mirror images of her impeding doom. She just HAD to sneak an image of Katoptris before they left, and the shadows engulfing her weren't excatly reassuring. She also really didn't want to mention to Lou Ellen of the image of her dangling off a cliff. Around Piper, the forest shook in a deafening roar.

"Positions!" yelled Artemis as the Hunters flanked Piper and the others to the clearing, where Arion was grazing. How Arion could be so calm in the middle of a basic earthquake, Piper didn't know. Well, his father was the god of earthquakes... Okay, that was weird, and really creepy to think about right now.

"Arion, come on!" cried Hazel, jerking his saddle.

"BLEAAAH!" whined Arion when he eyed a limping Jason again.

"Demented horse," muttered Lou Ellen, eyeing Arion carefully.

"Shh, she doesn't mean that," muttered Hazel, giving Lou the stink eye. Hey, it was Hazel's horse, so Piper was pretty sure Arion's pampering was at an all-time high.

"My old friend, you know what to do," stated Artemis, gazing at Arion.

With a nicker, Arion loaded his passengers on, and Piper was pretty surprised on how calmly he was doing it this time.

"AHGHGHGHGH!" roared a voice as a huge, scaly beast ripped in the clearing.

Four wings popped from the creature's back, with hooked fangs adorning it's tips. The horrible thing was, it stood on two legs, as a normal human being could. The beast was easily forty-five feet tall, and it was completely bright orange, with the exception of it's wings being gray. It's head was oddly bird-shaped, with pure red eyes.

"I-I don't believe it," stammered Artemis.

"My lady?" questioned Thalia, aiming her bow.

Piper was sure she would like to know, after all, it seemed like it was also trying to kill them.

"A-a Kardoni," stammered Artemis, "But they-," she was cut off by the creature smashing his right foot in the place where the goddess previously stood.

Piper never heard of Kardoni before, were they supposed to be new? Well, scratch that, really, really old, so much that they were 'claimed' to have been forgotten.

"Fire!" yelled Artemis, growing to fifteen feet tall, and somersaulting over the Kardoni.

Around Piper's head, fifty arrows flew from various bows, hurtling toward the Kardoni. As they were about to hit, the Kardoni simply disappeared.

"Wha-?" said Thalia, obviously confused.

Piper really wanted to know how a forty-five feet tall beast could simply disappear. She got her answer when it reappeared five feet from Arion, smashing it's left hand down.

"Teleportation!" cursed Artemis.

Piper's eyes widened out of it's sockets. A freaking bright orange beast could teleport?! Okay, that was kind of new, considering she hadn't seen one of those before. With a rush, Arion zoomed around the beast, and Piper felt her stomach was being sucker-punched.

"Not again!" yelled Jason, as he gripped the horse's flank. Piper curled her arms around Jason's waist, with Lou Ellen hanging on tight to Hazel at the front.

Artemis blasted a bright-white light at the beast, only for it to disappear yet again.

"Stupid, little..." growled Artemis, brandishing a hunting knife. "Go!" she yelled to the group.

Arion swerved directly south, and zoomed straight to Tennessee. Piper was pretty sure her stomach was going to retain that sucker-punch feeling for a couple days. She was also really worried; monsters were attacking wherever they met with gods, and ironically, it was happening in the same sort of situation. Gee, having Olympians around were actually supposed to help, not attract a huge slew of monsters.

Okay, Piper wanted to take that back a little bit, with a Happy Time orange beast crying in the distance behind them. The more Piper thought about it, the gods weren't really so bad. After all, three just sort of held off monsters just for them. But if the Olympians couldn't take down beasts like that easily... then who could?

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Reflecting on thoughts while riding Arion was sort of fast. After all, the horse could make it clear across continents in a matter of hours, really. Piper caught a glimpse of the Tennessee River rushing by them. She was sure if Percy were here, he would be focusing on the whole thing the entire way... Piper honestly felt bad for Percy and Annabeth; Tartarus wasn't a good experience for them. She knew that much, being a guidance counselor.

The Greeks, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea for her to be a guidance counselor in New Athens. Admittedly, she was skeptical at first, but hearing other people's problems kind of settled her a bit. Percy and Annabeth's problems were the worst though, not much could really affect them.

They had to resort to other measures just to sleep. Piper wondered how they were doing back home, especially with Leo. Holy Zeus, Leo... For all Piper knew, he was probably still signing autographs right now, congratulating his bad boy McShizzleness. If they got back alive, Piper was going to slap him a couple more times.

"You guys alright back there?" questioned Hazel, pulling Piper out of her thoughts.

"Besides riding on a bloodthirsty horse, alright!" shouted Lou Ellen, already turning another shade of green.

"Arion eats metal!" yelled Hazel, "Not human flesh, that's stupid!"

Okay..., riding on a horse with a set of chompers strong enough to eat metal wasn't high on Piper's list, but it was probably their best option at the moment.

"How much longer till we get there?" whined Jason.

"Mmm, at this speed, fifteen minutes?" Hazel smirked, "Maybe ten," as she kicked Arion further, blasting him even faster. Piper didn't know what they were getting into as the spires of Nashville appeared on the horizon.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed! I'll be doing contests soon, with winners being sent exclusive one-shots or other material sent by me! Everything will all tie to this series, because, as I said, I want consistency to follow Heroes of Olympus, so everyone can rely on secure stuff.**

**Also, WOOOO YESS, 1ST CHAPTER TO HIT 3000 WORDS, YESSSSSS.**


	12. XII: Piper

**XII: Piper**

**The moaning of ghosts were starting to disturb Piper**. Well, she did think she was hearing some sort of moaning.

Arion zipped across a highway in the heart of Nashville, blasting past some assorted vehicles. How the Mist was covering this up, Piper didn't know. Four demigods on a godly horse was sort of a page-turner. The skyscrapers towered over Arion, as he zoomed a mile or two outside of downtown. The cars blasting by weren't helping Piper's nerves much. She was pretty sure she would rather prance around a demented Earth Mother than get run over by a truck.

"Where are we going?!" yelled Jason.

"You tell me!" shot back Hazel.

Piper cocked her head, listening to the whispers. "Stop," she flatly said. Pulling back on the reins, Hazel slowed Arion to a trot.

"There," muttered Piper, pointing to a pile of rubble in the distance, surrounded by cranes.

Piper wasn't really sure why, but the voices were whispering over that way.

"Piper, you sure?" questioned Lou Ellen, looking a little white.

Arion nickered, edging ever so closer to the ancient site. Piper really had a bad feeling about this, she couldn't quite stomach it. But they really didn't know where else to go.

"This must be the shrine Artemis was talking about," stated Hazel.

"But there's nothing here," frowned Jason.

Piper had to roll her eyes, Jason sure liked to point out the blatantly obvious. But then again, stuff usually appeared when they least expected it. It was pretty much the norm for demigods these days, Chiron should REALLY put that in the manual.

"Omph," butted in Lou Ellen, as everyone hopped off Arion.

"Here ya go," smiled Hazel, as she pulled a chunk of gold out of the ground, stuffing it in Arion's mouth.

Piper swore that horse would make a great gold launderer. With a nicker, Arion turned and shot out of the site, heading straight north. She thought he was probably going to go play with these Party Ponies. Their word choice was certainly similar. A breeze whipped through the group, getting grits all over Piper's shirt. Hazel coughed, and wiped some dust off her purple t-shirt.

"Uh so, what now?" asked Jason.

"Well Sparky," muttered Piper, "We look, I guess."

"We may need some help," said Hazel, "Lou, mind doing your thing?"

Lou Ellen nodded, brandishing Diancer. Piper heard that Diancer had a dark history, once being in the hands of one of the most evil Greek magicians known to man. That really didn't reassure her much, as the staff glowed.

"Est Kaeta Lumina!" shouted Lou, casting a white orb of light to the sky.

Around Piper, Hazel and Jason unsheathed their swords, leading in front of her. Piper unsheathed Razorback, guarding Lou from behind. She had to admit, her swordplay was getting really good these days, and sparring with Jason was intense. Shaking out of her thoughts, Piper noticed the orb spinning faster and faster, dashing around the rubble like a drunk siesta band. They hired one once last summer for an end-of-the-block party, and it was wild to say the least. Mexicans doing the splits were amusing, and how the Mist masked them was hilarious.

"WEEET!" screeched the orb, causing Piper to cover her ears. Its resonance was eardrum-shattering to her.

The ground shook, as the orb descended on a fallen pillar, absorbing itself in the markings. If Gaea was waking again, Piper knew she was going have to slap her enough times to make her lose consciousness. Thankfully, that wouldn't be happening in pretty much... well, forever. At least that was the hope. Piper really didn't need another bloodthirsty goddess on their tail.

The ruins groaned even more, heaving and shifting. Enough rubble eventually dispersed to make a five-foot wide hole in the ground. Piper stared, they came all this way to a tiny hole Zeus couldn't fit in? Wait, that probably wasn't the best thing to say out loud, unless you needed to be a scorched hole in the ground.

"Uh," started Jason, "This is it?"

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, not every mystical temple has a cool entrance," growled Lou Ellen, strapping her staff on her back.

"I'll go in first," muttered Hazel, edging a toe over the hole. Piper really hoped that hole wasn't endless, or Hazel was about to wind up to be a mocha cappuccino.

"Well, here I go," gulped Hazel. She leaned down into the hole, and leaped down with a _thud_.

"What's down there?" asked Jason.

"Not much," replied the muffled voice of Hazel.

"Hazel, is there any markings?" questioned Piper, she thought it might be able to clue them in a little.

"Uh, there's -GAHHH!" yelled Hazel.

"HAZEL!" shouted Lou Ellen, jumping down into the pit.

Piper shared a look with Jason, and with entwined hands, jumped into the pit. Wind whipped in Piper's hair, tussling up her eagle-feather braid, as Jason cushioned them to the ground. In front of Piper, Hazel was laughing at Lou Ellen.

"You sure do fall for this," snorted Hazel.

"Not... funny..," droned Lou, "You could have been freaking dead for all we care!"

"Well, does this look dead to you?" asked Hazel, gesturing to a chamber in front of her.

Piper wondered how a chamber like this could fit inside, but then again, they were standing in a one-hundred-foot radius pit. Soft torches lined the circular walls, casting a glow on everyone's faces. Looking up, Piper saw the entrance was about twenty feet above them.

"Wait, Hazel, how did you and Lou survive a twenty feet fall?" asked Piper.

Hazel stared at Piper, "Underground is my element, and you're asking?"

"Oh, right," stated Piper. She mentally smacked herself. Hazel was impressive underground, especially in the House of Hades.

Piper shuddered, that place was creepy as, well, Hades. Jason shuffled forward. "What is that?" he frowned, examining the door in front of them. Piper turned to observe it, basking in the dimly-lit area.

"It looks Greek," stuttered Jason, tracing the carvings.

Piper noticed that, but there were other symbols adorning the doorway too. With a gasp, she recognized some of them as Roman too, as well as some vague symbols.

"Jason, look," she whispered, elbowing him. "Language of magic," drawled Lou, tracing these vague symbols Piper couldn't recognize.

"Entrat El Poeata, Teme Lua," muttered Lou Ellen, mimicking whatever these symbols were supposed to mean. Piper made a mental note to take whatever magic class was back home, so she didn't have to have another Spanish class headache. The pit groaned, as the top of the door-arch glowed blue.

"Whoa," breathed Jason, pushing Piper back a little. Piper appreciated the gesture, but she was a big girl, she could take care of herself!

"Hmm, I wonder," mused Hazel. "Temarius, Entrat!" she exclaimed, rattling off some Latin signs.

The door groaned, its sides glowing now glowing blue as well. Piper had to think. A magician and a Roman was opening the door... What was missing? _Mmm, of_ _course!_ she thought. Greek, Roman, and magician symbols. It all made sense now. People from these sides had to work together to open these doors. Piper felt a strange attraction to the door center, and Greek symbols glowed in front of her. It struck her sharply, its words implanting itself in her brain.

"Δύναμη κατά δύναμη, Open !" she screamed, and the door roared to life.

Lou took a few steps back further, and the cavern shook. The door whirred, creaking and clicking. The symbols interconnected with each other, flowing to life like water.

"MEP!" chirped the door, revolving open, causing Piper to take a step back.

Well, that was probably the first thing Piper felt useful on the quest so far... opening a super-magical door with the abilities of jazz-hands. Lou unstrapped her staff, muttering a spell. The form of Diancer flickered to life, casting a glow in the abyss beyond.

"So, who's going first?" nervously chuckled Lou. Piper hoped it wasn't going to be all that bad, plunging in a deep, dark abyss was the least of their worries right now, right?

"Ladies first?" stated Jason, ushering them forward. Piper had to snort, Jason was getting edgy again, and she would have to remind him where he came from later. With Jason right behind her, Piper ventured into the darkness, with Lou Ellen and Hazel behind them, each brandishing their respective weapons.

"I feel nothing," frowned Hazel, "It's all over the place..."

Piper hoped it wasn't anything bad. But then again, life was usually screwy for demigods, whether they liked it or not. The chances of monsters crashing on their wedding was most likely ninety-percent, with a chance of rain.

"Hazel, what about-," started Piper, and proceeded to start screaming as she plunged into a completely vertical tunnel.

It was pretty much the same as skydiving, minus the splatter zone waiting for them at the bottom. "Pipes, hang on!" yelled Jason, gripping her waist. On Jason's free right hand, Lou Ellen and Hazel linked up, also taking the sudden plunge. It was literally a vertical cliff Piper did not see coming. "Brace,-" began Jason, as everyone started hovering. "What the?" questioned Jason, looking confused. "Wait, you didn't do that Sparky?" asked Piper. If Jason didn't do that, then who did? "This is so odd," stated Lou, with frown lines on her face. "Wouldn't this,-" began Hazel, as they were interrupted again. Piper yelled as they plopped down onto the ground.

Scrambling to her feet, Piper observed the new area. Immediately to her right, an small-scale replica of Nashville was present. The amazing thing was, stuff was actually happening in there. Tiny cars were moving, and so were tiny people.

"This is immensely weird," said Hazel, brushing off soot from her blue jeans.

Piper looked up, again, and saw nothing. It was like the top had gotten sealed, so she had no idea how far they had fallen. If Piper had to guess, they were just marching down the throat of the Earth or something. In front of her laid a hallway, with Greek columns supporting a tiled roof on top of them. Roman stones laid on the floor, engraved with sketches. In one of them, Piper recognized Acheolous from the Mediterranean... Now that had been a sorry state of a guy.

"This isn't right," shakily said Lou Ellen.

"Why?" asked Jason.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Roman and Greek architecture from thousands of years ago aren't exactly common...," started Lou, "And they're in the same room!"

Piper realized Lou was right, why would they be there when they were once enemies so many years ago? Okay, that question was kind of boring, but it was sort of important. After all, the Romans and Greeks really didn't get together until two years ago, when Gaea exploded in a fiery inferno. At least Piper got the satisfaction of Octavian screaming like a girl from Nico. She was pretty sure she heard cheerings when the augur was declared dead. Eh, Octavian wasn't really going to be missed. Piper secretly hoped his punishment was to run across a field of Legos, barefoot, for ALL ETERNITY.

Looking back and forth, there was nothing behind, or on the sides of Piper. Nothing laid ahead but the hallway, and the voices of ghosts were starting to whisper in her ears again.

"It's close, I feel it!" exclaimed Hazel, looking agitated.

"Well, when in doubt, we move forward," muttered Lou Ellen, pushing forward and taking charge.

"Who made that up?" asked Jason.

"I did," grumbled Lou, "Now get moving!"

Piper had to give Lou Ellen credit, she had sass when it was needed. Up ahead, a statue of Zeus supported the weight of the roof, just standing at the very edge of the walkway, two-hundred feet from where they landed.

"Great, my dad, the eternal workout guy," said Jason, throwing his hands up. Zeus looked pretty buff, and still had that angry look on his face. Piper leaned forward at the base, and surprisingly, English was carved in it.

"A leap of faith, a leap of doom, a leap of power," she stated, reading the words out loud. What in the name of Mother Rhea was that even supposed to mean?

"KLAK," rumbled the statue, as it immediately plummeted to the ground. Piper took a step forward, and got shoved back by Jason.

"Look," he whispered. Another fifty feet of stones lay forward, and they shifted. "KLA-KA-KLACK-KLA-KLA-KLA!" they chattered, falling into nothing but blackness below them. If stones had feelings, Piper was sure they would kind of be screaming right now. Just great, now a fifty-feet long chasm stood between Piper and a twelve-foot tall door that so conveniently happened to be standing on the other side.

A creaking abyss greeted Piper, looking like it had no end whatsoever. Nothing but disc-sized columns dotted the abyss, teetering and tottering in, well, nothing. Basically, it looked like a Wipeout course, which was supposed to be fun. Unfortunately, the only prize here for wiping out was certain death. Piper mulled over what the words meant, she had to leap out of faith, right? And well, the abyss was sort of doomful too, so that kind of counted. A leap of power? Maybe that meant physical strength?

"Wait, Pipes," murmured Jason, pulling her back. "Don't!" he pleaded.

"We're going to find out one way or another Sparky," said Piper, gritting her teeth. "After all, you can carry me back up, right?"

"That's the problem Piper," butted in Lou, "Nothing's working."

Piper whirled around. "You mean to say, no wind, no magic, no nothing?" she cried. "Since when did this happen?"

"Since when you were looking at that door," said Hazel, leaning a hand around her waist.

Piper gulped, if she tried this, she would probably end up in the Underworld the hard way. But hey, a girl's gotta live a dangerous life. Plus, if she didn't do it, her friends and fiance would. There was no way in the name of Aphrodite that Piper was going to let them attempt it. They were probably more important than she was. With a dash, Piper closed her eyes and jumped for the first disc-column.

"Pipes!" screamed Jason, diving for her. Piper opened her eyes, and saw herself balancing on the stone.

Hazel sighed, "Thank the gods, take it slow!"

Piper dashed yet again, landing on the next stone five feet in front of her. Looking back, she noticed that Jason looked pale, shaking like crazy.

Piper cleared her mind, and breathed. Three more to go... With a grunt, she leaped again, and again. The door was so close, beckoning in Piper's grasp. Just one last step, and they hopefully would be closer to finding out just what was happening here.

"GAH!" yelled Piper, making one last, final leap. Despair filled her as she tripped, plummeting in the abyss below.

"Faith, faith," she muttered, grappling onto a ledge.

The door was just five feet above her, and Piper pulled herself up, using these rock-climbing skills. She was so thankful she signed up for the extra rock-climbing lessons. With a scramble, Piper inched in front of the door, and slammed a palm on it. It had intriguing mosaics adorning the front, and the arches curved all the way to the top, with two pillars melted right into the stone itself.

"PIPER!" shouted Jason, "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"F-fine," Piper managed to spit out. After all, she was used to near-death experiences far too often.

"Stay close!" yelled Lou Ellen, "We'll be right behind you!"

The door spun, and Piper shook her hand off of it. In front of her, an antechamber glowed. Piper squealed, she knew this was it. The voices of the spirits were getting intense now, beckoning her in further and further.

"You catch up guys!" she said, with a smirk.

"Just be careful!" exclaimed Hazel, "We don't know what's in there!" Piper pulled herself in, and looked at the dozen steps beckoning her.

Piper heard the clip-clops of her Nikes as she descended down the stairwell. Oak wood adorned the staircase, leading into a massive room. Pure, white marble covered the entire floor, and Piper had to guess the room itself was at least five-hundred feet wide. Ancient ebony chests were backed up against the wall, shrieking like a demented tiger.

With a groan, Piper clutched her ears, as the voices of spirits drowned out. Her head became clear, and she looked around. The room was easily three-hundred feet long, with a MASSIVE shrine at the end of it. Every chest leading up to it rattled, as if something was inside them. A white, birch wood dome was the shrine itself, with a statue of a woman Piper didn't recognize at the top of it. Pure white circles decorated the sides, with rainbow mosaics, once again, showing out scenes.

Piper edged closer, and saw many unfamiliar ones. There was a blob of pitch black glass on one of the mosaics, with yellow glass surrounding it. It almost looked as if the yellow was penetrating the black. With a whip of her head, Piper heard the voices of her friends behind her.

"Get-ACK!" said a voice Piper knew as Jason.

"Mo-yal!" garbled Hazel.

Piper hoped they made it across the abyss alive, hopefully without arguing each other to death. Was that even possible? The wails of voices droned inside the chests, making them rattle even harder. With a start, Piper thought that this must be the Shrine of Souls thingy that Artemis was talking about. It sort of fit the description, with souls muttering around all over the place.

"Welcome!" exclaimed a new voice.

Piper jerked around, trying to see where it was coming from.

"My dear," the voice seemed to smile, "We've been expecting you!"

"W-why?" stuttered out Piper. When people usually expected them, it meant they were usually trying to kill them.

With a pop, eleven chests jerked open, releasing many white blobs. They swirled all around Piper's head like a slushy, before merging into one figure six feet from Piper. Tanned arms appeared, and cascading gold curls formed down a head. With a jump, Piper stepped back. The forming figure was obviously a woman, as they seemed to appear to Piper all the time.

"Daughter of Aphrodite," murmured the woman, "You've arrived, at last." Piper pulled out Katoptris, pointing it at the woman. Her curls kept shifting from blonde to brown, and she was white, with tans of course. Her eyes were pure gold, boring holes into Piper's soul.

The woman's white and green dress went down to her ankles, shifting as she moved around.

"Who are you?!" demanded Piper. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. But then again, the woman could just be a goddess who could just incinerate her with the flick of a finger.

"You're very important, of course Piper." drawled the woman, twisting a finger around her curls. Piper had to breathe, that usually didn't end well.

"Again, WHO ARE YOU!?" yelled Piper, edging toward the woman.

"I am Rhea," smiled the woman, "Mother of Zeus, and you better talk if you want to live through tonight..."

* * *

**Reviews:**

**-lovedystopia, Thanks again for your review! I enjoy reading them, especially the REALLY, REALLY long ones! I'm sorry it's just so enjoyable reading your reviews, it makes my day indeed! Thanks for the support!**

**-Court, Thanks again! I like it when you're telling me the parts you're laughing at. It lets me know how I'm doing things right. Looking forward to your next review!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Uncle Rick, aka God of Trolls.**


	13. XIII: Calypso

**MHAHAHA my Flyers! I am back, with an awesome chapter. I noticed such few of you were commenting on Piper... I was like what the heck?! Come on guys... Doesn't anyone have a love for that? I've worked very hard on this chapter, so I hope you like. The Leo chapters were great success, with 4-5 reviews on each one alone. I'm hoping this chapter with a very specific girl can help bring that back up ;D.**

**Now.. Review Time!**

**-Lovedystopia, Oh thank you for reviewing last chapter! I really thought I was going to have to hunt you down with a tranquilizer or a Mechanical Hound from Fahrenheit 451. It's the book that inspired me to start writing, check it out! It's about a dystopian society where firemen burn books for a living. You reviews make me smile, don't ever leave me for that long! *HISSES!**

**-Court, thanks for your review! I'm really happy that you're keeping up to date with all the updates ;D. I really appreciate your thoughts for me, and I really do strive to continue the quests for the Seven.**

**-Fasiha, Thanks for the question! The quest will be explained as the story goes further. Like I said, the whole book is still a puzzle piece that is not fully assembled yet**

**I've planned the basic structure of how the entire book is going to go now, so you're welcome! It's going to be a long ride, so pull in! I got the feeling some chapters need to be redone though...**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to our special troller, Rick Riordian!**

**Now, without further ado... Oh wait. You may want to read my first one-shot if you want to make some more sense of what happened this chapter. Do not worry, the end of the chapter may be unanswered but it will be answered in the next few chapters, do not worry!**

**GOAL: Hit 35 followers before I post the next chapter!**

***NEXT CHAPTER POST ON Saturday, November 15, by 10:00 PM EST. The reason being is that I am reediting some chapters to make the story better. Also planning out some arcs as well.**

**Without further ado... McShizzle's girlfriend! ;D.**

* * *

**XIII: Calypso**

**The honking car horn blasted at Calypso's ears as she ran for the sidewalk**. "Watch out!" yelled Leo, pulling her aside. Calypso frowned, "But, New York is so big..." It was kind of true, considering she was stuck on a tiny island for millenia, which didn't help her sanity much. Apparently, they were standing in some sort of building called the Chrysler Building. It was _soooooo_ big, with pointy spires sticking all over the place. At that moment, Calypso really knew she had missed A LOT. She turned to Leo, "Leo, are you sure this is safe?" "Baby, everything is alright when you're with Leo!" he said, puffing his chest. Calypso had to giggle, Leo could act like a total dork sometimes. Basically, he was a burrito. Funny, hot, and spicy all wrapped up in a pile of deliciousness. Calypso tried one in Mexico once, and it was AWESOME! Sure, she had to gargle water for hours afterward, but it was worth it.

"Hey, you!" shouted a new voice. With that, Leo jumped up, and Calypso had to snort. Facing down evil monsters was less scary than a girly voice to him. Turning around to face the new voice, Calypso frowned at the girl jogging up to her. She looked kind of snobby, in Calypso's mind. The girl had straight honey-blond hair and was wearing this shirt thingy. M-marl-Maroon! That's right. It was SO confusing keeping up with all these 'shirt brands' these days. Honestly, all these humans couldn't seem to make up their mind! With a snarl, Calypso glared at the stupidly, yet endearingly snobby girl. The girl raised to speak, bu faltered under Calypso's withering glare. Calypso had to smile, at last, her glare was finally starting to creep out people. If not, she could pull out that black-belt in kung-fu that she had. Barely muttering something, the blond girl ducked inside the Chrysler Building.

"So, the Dolphin Guy called us?" asked Leo, fumbling for his toolbelt. "Isn't he supposed to be flopping?" "You mean Poseidon," muttered Calypso, bringing up her right finger to rest on Leo's lip. "Want some of that action?" smirked Leo. "Ow!" he yelled when Calypso flicked him on the nose. Leo was SOO vain, but funny all the same. Why Poseidon called them here, Calypso really didn't know. It had been three days since Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Lou Ellen left off for their saving-the-world quest. Calypso had to groan, she had found a new friend with Piper, but cue the jazz hands, and bang. The world apparently wanted to take away the only female friend she had to retain her sanity. Meh, sanity was SO overrated these days, considering Calypso was sort of mortal. Apparently Poseidon had popped in Bunker Nine last night, scaring the living Atlas out of Calypso. She swore if anyone interrupted another moment with her and Leo, she would snap their neck.

_"Noon, Chrysler Building tomorrow," whispered Poseidon. "There is a matter of urgency!"_ That was pretty much the only thing the sea god had said after popping in on Calypso's dance night with Leo. Poseidon hightailed it out of there in a puff of smoke, with a blush or something. Could gods blush? Most likely. Needless to say, Calypso felt pretty stabby herself. The sea god wasn't exactly her most favorite guy, considering she was trapped on a tiny island for a _really, really_ long time. Then there was the matter of Odysseus... The thought was sort of painful, especially with the Valley of Odysseus rubbing in her face like butter. Except for the fact the butter would be vinegar or something. Besides that, Camp Half-Blood and New Athens was pretty cool. It was too bad they were standing in the middle of a roaring, slightly chilling city waiting for a god.

"Hey, Leo, what is that?" questioned Calypso, snapping out of her thoughts. Calypso pointed to a nearby alley with a rustling noise in it. "Ah _chica,_ I've seen these horror movies!" exclaimed Leo, stumbling back. Calypso saw Jack the Ripper on the screen once. Needless to say, every woodland animal ran away from her for two full weeks. "Crybaby," muttered Calypso, with a smirk. "I am the Supreme McShizzle!" boasted Leo, planting his fists on his hips. "Nothing would dare interrupt my glorious awesomeness!" Faster than you could say _Zeus' Underpants, _a shadow streak shot out of the alley, zipped around Leo's waist, and shot back in. "What the?!" exclaimed Leo, as his suspenders snapped apart. Startled, Calypso whipped out her knife, _Glister_, and jerked in the direction of the alley. "What was that?!" jumped Leo, scrambling to cover himself. "Looks like Poseidon' going to have to wait," muttered Calypso, dragging a cursing Leo behind her. Now they were going to have to cross the street, AGAIN!

Normally, a shop or something wouldn't plop themselves in an alley, they were pretty creepy anyhow. But how a door was plastered on the right wall of that dark, creepy place, Calypso didn't know. Peering at the sign, it appeared to say, "Master Ridley's Ye' Tavern." It looked kind of Old English to Calypso, but not that_ old, old_ English. She had to stifle a grunt, the English language was changing too much! "Hang on!" cried Leo, "I'm still de-pantsed!" "Oh Leo!" laughed Calypso, clutching her sides. Leo was apparently fixing his suspenders, which were dangling around his ankles. With a grunt, Leo stretched them up, and readjusted them. "No one depants Leo and gets away with it!" he growled. "Calypso, we're crashing in there! Watch your Chuck Norris!" as Leo pulled out a four-pound hammer. "Ready when you are, Valdez," smiled Calypso, whirling her knife.

"Flame on!" yelled Leo, crashing through the wooden door with his hammer. Calypso followed suit, somersaulting over Leo, rolling and tucking down on the floor. With a cry, the duo pulled their battle stance. What Calypso didn't expect seeing were a bunch of dudes standing around a bar, with muzak music playing in the distance. The floor creaked and cracked, obviously made of flimsy oak wood posts. At least the bar top had some granite around it, not like it would do much. The odd thing was, the half dozen dudes standing around it weren't exactly human. They turned around to face Calypso, and she had to think _yikes!_ They had four arms on their torso, and eerily yellow skin. Their matted hair were dirty brown, falling down to their shoulders. Around the room, which was easily forty feet by forty feet, cloaked figures sat around various tables. "Can I help you?" grunted a new voice, and a ten-foot tall man walked out of some sort of kitchen.

"Name's Ridley," grumbled the pale-faced man. At least he was sort of normal, except for these creepy reptile eyes. "Have a drink!" Calypso was about to protest, when Leo _just had_ to butt in. "Well, well, thanks for the hospitality!" boomed Leo, "The Valdezenator at your service!" With that, Leo swaggered over to a bar-stool and plopped himself down. Calypso swore she saw these cloaked figures shuffle uneasily. "Aren't you young or something kid?" grunted one of the yellow dudes. Leo huffed, "Nothing is young enough for the supremacy of Leo!" Calypso groaned, Leo was REALLY getting on her nerves right now. Of course she loved him, but still. "One dragon meade!" said Leo, pounding his fist on the counter. _Oh..._, this was not going to end up well. Leo and alcohol did NOT mix well. This was why Calypso tended to avoid taking Leo to bars, barring the occasional party. "One meade," grumbled the man who apparently was Ridley, "Bottoms up!" Calypso plopped on the bar-stool next to Leo, "Leo, are you sure you should be doing that?"

"Everything's all good _chica_," muttered Leo, gulping down the beer. "So, little miss," grumbled Ridley, "What brings ye here?" "Destiny or something," grumbled Calypso. "-ey, didja hear about these demigods?" whispered the group of yellow men, to each other. Calypso leaned in to listen, "They'll ain't never make it to -son -ity alive!" Putting on a seducing smile, "Whatcha talking about boys?" asked Calypso, fluttering her eyes. "Ah, we was just talking about em demigods who escaped that Mardai!" yelled one guy. He was then rudely slapped by another, "SHUTTYAP!" Calypso's eyes widened, she remembered Piper sending a brief Iris message about them just a while ago. Apparently they were staying at the camp of the Hunters or something. "Mah! That was GOOD!" belched Leo, setting down his beer. Calypso was really starting to get nervous with these cloaked figure thingies watching their every move. She knew something was really, really off at this point.

"Uh, Leo," started Calypso, turning to face her boyfriend. "Doesn't-," she started, widening her eyes. "Leo, you're hot!" she exclaimed. "Baby, I'm always hot!" grinned Leo. "Uh no," muttered Calypso, "You're _LITERALLY_ hot, you're on fire!" "Wha?!" exclaimed Leo, seeing himself completely on fire..., again. "Get that outta my shop!" roared Ridley, pulling his kirtle away. "I know how to fix it!" yelled Leo. He ran over to another mug of beer, and lifted it up. "NO, LEO!" shouted Calypso, "YOU'RE MAKING IT-!" She was then interrupted by Leo pouring it all over herself. "GAK!" jumped Leo, as the one-foot radius of pure fire around him exploded to ten feet long, vaporizing the yellow men. "YOU IDIOT!" screamed Calypso, "YOU'VE MADE IT WORSE! ALCOHOL SPREADS FIRE!" Needless to say, the roof of the tavern collapsed entirely. "AHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" shrieked Leo, rolling all over the floor. "Get er over there!" yelled Ridley, throwing a bucket of water over Leo. Needless to say, he grunted the whole way down as he was extinguished.

"NOW, KILL THEM!" roared Ridley. The cloaks behind Calypso whirled away to reveal nothing but..., a shadowy blob. Okay, that had to have been really anti-climatic. With a grunt, Calypso grabbed a beer bottle and chucked it at the blob-thingies. Shockingly enough, a hand reached out to dissolve it. Calypso jerked toward Leo. "Run?" she asked. "Run," Leo agreed solemnly. "NAHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Leo, bolting out of the door, Calypso tailing him. Calypso could vaguely hear the whooshing sounds of shadows trailing them as they bolted out of the alley, back into the roaring streets of New York. Panting, Calypso made a beeline for the Chrysler Building, at least they could have a god who would blast them to ashes. "BESIDES MY BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND, WHY IS MY LIFE SO SUCK-TASTIC!" screamed Leo, which Calypso was sure anyone within a full mile radius could hear.

Calypso didn't expect to collide into that snobby girl from earlier either. "ACK!" she grunted out, as she whammed into that Maroon girl. With a grunt, "Get out of the way!" she grunted. Clutching _Glister_ to her side, Calypso was immediately alert for any threats. Next to her, Leo pulled out his hammer. Calypso shoved the blonde girl aside, turning to face her. "You might as well get arrested for that!" shouted the blonde girl. Calypso paled, focusing on the girl's eyes. "What are you seeing?!" demanded Calypso, clutching her knife. "Uh, Calypso," butted in Leo, "Isn't this-!" "Shut up Leo!" screamed Calypso. She REALLY didn't have time for this, with bloodthirsty shadows all over her Titanly butt. "B-but!" stammered Leo, "Behind ya!" Calypso faced the direction Leo was pointing his face toward, and her heart sank. The shadow blob whirled around the block, barreling straight for her. "Thundering Zeus," muttered Calypso. Being mortal was screwed up! Turning around to face the girl, "RUN, NOW!" yelled Calypso, pronouncing it as well as she could. Hearing a yell, Calypso saw Leo throw his hammer at the shadow streak.

But hey, the STUPID thing just had to dissolve the hammer too! It was like a freaking Godzilla or something, only smaller! And dark, and nothing like..., well, okay. The people walking around Calypso elected a surprised mutter, backing away from her. "Isn't that-," muttered one man. "That's a-!" started another. Calypso really had to gulp, were they seeing something they weren't supposed to? _Oh Atlas_, please not now. "This is really bad," gulped Calypso. Looking around, she realized that stupid blond girl was gone or something. Well, good riddance! With a whirl, the shadow materialized in front of them. Calypso's face grew pale, and she dropped her knife. In front of her, the shadow materialized into Odysseus himself. "PATHETIC GIRL," he smiled. "H-how," Calypso stammered, her legs turning to jelly. "Calypso!" yelled Leo, reaching out for her. At least Leo made a good pillow or something. "A SHADOW SHALL FALL UPON YOU ALL, PREPARE FOR-," Odysseus was cut off by a green blast, exploding him into shredded paper.

What Calypso wasn't expecting was the jostling form of Poseidon in a green bellhop uniform. "Mardai, Mardai, Mardai!" he exclaimed, dashing up to Calypso. "Trouble, trouble! Run, Run, Run!" Poseidon jiggled in his plump uniform, streaking past Calypso's shocked face. "Calypso, come on!" pleaded Leo, pulling Calypso up to her feet. Shaking her thoughts off, Calypso ran after the already retreating form of Poseidon. "Po-Poseidon," gasped Calypso, struggling to catch up to him. "No time!" he yelled, "Just run!" "You're a god! Can't you teleport?" panted Leo. "HEY! Someone stop them!" yelled one of the men in the retreating crowd. Just great, now they were being chased by an angry mob. Not exactly the number one thing on Calypso's bucket list. "Here!" yelled Poseidon, gesturing to a nearby fountain. Calypso noticed Poseidon was carrying some sort of package, not really big at all. Wasn't that Hermes' job or something?

With a yell, Poseidon pulled water out of the fountain, enveloping Calypso in a breeze. "WA!" she choked, as her vision went upside-down, and all she could see was a fast-moving water tunnel. Whirling back into vision, Calypso winced as her head slammed into the base of the Athena Parthenos. "Yack!" grunted Leo, skidding to a stop two feet from her. Whirling around, Calypso noticed they were back in New Athens, in front of the shrine of the Athena Parthenos. "T-total anarchy," gasped Poseidon, leaning down on his legs to take a breather. Snapping off the package from his arms, Calypso got a glimpse of what it was. It looked sort of like a jewel, except the fact it was cloud-colored. It burned solidly bright, giving off an odd smell. "Alice..., gave me this!?" roared Poseidon, "How is that even supposed to help?" Calypso didn't know who the heck Alice was, but she decided to stay out of it.

"Hey! Leo!" shouted the guy named Frank, jogging up the steps of the shrine. Calypso groaned, another friend of Leo's! "Frank," muttered Poseidon, "Give this to Chiron, NOW!" "Uh, yes sir?" stammered Frank, gathering up the jewel and bolting out of the shrine area. Well, at least that was brief. Calypso remembered talking to Frank a couple of times, he was pretty nice. Modest too, if you ask her. With a whirlwind, Calypso realized she probably did more in the last thirty minutes than any normal mortal would do for weeks. Ah, the life of being a immortal-turned-mortal. "Ahh, that felt good, blasting that Odysseus look-alike," muttered Poseidon, "Does wonders on stress!" Calypso wondered just what the living Mother Rhea that was all about. "We have a situation," grumbled Poseidon, "Meeting, now!" "Gee, you think?!" thought Calypso. First, Leo had to be an idiot and throw alcohol on himself, and the fact that living versions of her past lovers were trying to kill her. And the thingy about shadows falling on them... It sort of sounded pretty doomful to her.

Jogging down the steps of the Athenian Shrine, Calypso headed straight for the _agora_, where they would most probably be meeting, again. Ah, what the heck, they were going to meet there anyway. Screw meeting place suggestions! Tightening her denim shorts, and Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, Calypso took in a breath of fresh air. Ahh, it was good getting away from her locked prison. Leo and the others were somewhere behind her, goofing off or something. With Leo, it was always the case. Passing _Cafe Marila,_ Calypso remembered her talk with Piper right before she left for her quest with that Jason dude. _"W-will you watch him?" stammered Piper, "I'm_ _just worried for him..." Calypso had to plant a reassuring smile on Piper's face. "He's Leo, Pipes," Calypso smiled, "After all, he's pretty dorky! Piper snorted at that. Calypso would never forget the promise she made Piper, not ever. Not about protecting Leo, but something else she never wanted to_ _hear._ Moving along, Calypso shook the memory out of her head. Hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that. Walking toward the_ agora_, Calypso really hoped she could find some answers.

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**Ahh, I hope you liked! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	14. XIV: Calypso

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW AND FOLLOW ME!**

**Hey guys! Stik is back here with another chapter! I've been reediting some of the older chapters, and the first one with Annabeth has been redone/edited. I beefed up all the paragraphs with some support sentences and added a few new paragraphs. Chapters 2-4 and 9 will also be redone at some point. **

**Check out the new book cover! I got one to demonstrate ;D. I also replaced ONE word in the summary, and it hints at what is coming, so look for that word and pay close attention.**

**Review Time!**

**-Lovedystopia, As always, thanks for the amazing review! I enjoy that you enjoy my terminology, and some more of that is coming up ;D. Do you like minecraft? You should attempt to try it out sometime! OR/AS releases in 6 days over here as of November 15! And yes, drunk Leo is horrifying. I had that crazy idea in school a day before writing that chapter, and I had to do it. Any sane writer would put something like that in there ;D. Yeah..., Calypso's gone through alot, and this chapter will deal with it some more.**

**-Court, Thanks for the review! It is much appreciated. Yeah, Calypso's exs are all over the place indeed. Find out this chapter ;D.**

**-For my Guest, thanks for the review! First off, they're demigods, they're sort of supposed to be in constant threat of death all the time xD. It wouldn't be Heroes of Olympus without constant screaming by monsters, but your thought is appreciated. This chapter has no threat of death whatsoever, so rest easy ;D.**

**This is a very, very deep chapter by Calypso BTW. It reflects alot on what's going on these days. Less humor, but there will be far more in future chapters ;D.**

**Also, in my final plan for the first book... It will have... 72 CHAPTERS! Yup, you heard right ;D. Lots and lots of stuff coming up ;D. Working out a title for the last four books for this series. Also started planning the NEXT series after this. Rest easy guys, I'm here to stay ;D.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Uncle Rick, who I will beat up for not continuing the series! WHY UNCLE RICK, WHYYY! (just joking xD)**

***I acknowledge the non-existence of some words..., these are the minds of demigods after all!**

**Updates:**

**-Chapter 15 by Thursday, November 20, by 10:00 PM EST**

**-Chapter 16 by Saturday, November 22, by 10:00 PM EST**

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**XIV: Calypso**

**The arm-wrestling match was amusing Calypso**. It was kind of fun watching Reyna take down that Butch guy from the Iris Cabin. What was even more amusing was the fact that the Romans were mingling with the Greeks. Calypso sort of knew that the Romans were ordered to stay in New Athens until the whole debacle blew over. Just an hour after Poseidon called a meeting, the _agora_ was packed with, well, just about everybody. After all, when an all-powerful blowy-uppy god calls you, you BETTER come! "Hey Cal, pass me the seventh wheel!" shouted Leo, from a corner. Calypso had to sigh, "Leo, I thought we discussed this, you're not a seventh wheel!" "Uh, no, literally, pass me the seventh wheel!" exclaimed Leo, who was apparently making a toy truck or something. Calypso had to sigh, Leo was a kid at heart, and she was going to put up with it, even if it killed her.

"Again, I apologize for ANOTHER meeting," muttered Poseidon, as he strolled in the _agora._ Everyone quieted, and turned their attention on the sea god. The thought of the sea made Calypso feel, well, seasick. It wasn't her favorite thing. "I promise you, no more meetings after this!" "Swear on the River Styx!" yelled someone from the crowd. Poseidon frowned, "Okay, maybe one or two!" Everyone groaned, including Calypso. She really hated corporal meetings like this. She would far rather go stick some knives in the necks of some monsters than endure this torture. "As of this time, the other gods are busy, so you're stuck with me!" stated Poseidon. Silence chirped across the crowd, and Calypso wasn't surprised. Well, this sort of made it kind of awkward, considering it would usually be Zeus or something. Well, at least this god could actually control his temper tantrums.

"Ahem," cleared Poseidon, rubbing the back of his neck. "Frank, pull it forward." Calypso, Leo, and just about everyone else turned to face a red-faced Frank stepping forward, clutching the cloudy gem. Calypso had to wonder, what could possibly spook Poseidon to hightail it out of the Chrysler Building with a tail between his legs? Basically, she thought it would be more of his own mother lecturing him, but whatever. That still was better than Leo boasting about his awesomeness. Seriously, her idiotic boyfriend lit himself on fire with alcohol, that was one of his best face-palming moments. "This gem," interrupted Poseidon, "Is an ancient relic." With a wave of his sass-inducing hand, Poseidon swirled the gem out of Frank's palms, drifting it around the watchful eyes of the gathered crowd. Calypso knew it was ancient, she could tell that much, it probably predated her. Yes, Calypso was sure she could see that, she was still descended from Titans after all.

"Alice Masters, one of our human spies, retrieved this," murmured Poseidon, capturing the attention of the crowd. "Nothing much is known, besides the fact it can make a big boom." He sighed, "Zeus knows, we lost enough good nymphs to that." Calypso groaned, oh joy, another boom-stick weapon. Didn't the last one go well enough to warrant the effort? Scratch that, Ares was probably involved in anything boom-worthy anyway. "Wait," butted in the voice of Annabeth, which made Calypso's teeth grit. "Since when did you people have human spies?" "Since forever," said Poseidon. Annabeth shrugged, and leaned back in the arms of Percy..., grah! Calypso still could feel a twang of bitterness, and it didn't come from that salt-shaker she licked a while ago. Sure, she had Leo, but the fact Annabeth was around still stung. She did feel some regret over cursing her though, especially after she had fallen into Tartarus for Percy.

Okay, Calypso was sure she had to give Annabeth some credit there. Their brief talk earlier was sorta awkward, having her ex-crush and said ex-crush's girlfriend there. All that ran through Calypso's mind as Poseidon continued hovering the gem around in silence. "Hey, are you okay?" asked Leo, poking her shoulder. "Do you need to bask in the shining light of Leo?" Calypso had to snort there, giving Leo credit for forcing laughs out of her. She still had to wonder how in the name of Atlas Leo was still putting up with all this. He sort of stated he wasn't exactly comfortable returning to all this... It was even worse than that time in France when he attempted the technicality of the Eiffel Tower. Needless to say, all of Paris mysteriously suffered a random blackout that lasted for at least a good week. Calypso knew he was still hiding something, and she would find out what. She remembered that talk with Leo, one year ago.

_"They'll hate me," muttered Leo, with tears in his eyes. "Leo, you don't know that," reassured Calypso, patting his back. It was just another day riding on a fire-breathing, jingling dragon, minus the gaping stares of mortals, probably thinking it was an F-16 Tempest or something. "There's too much at stake too," sniffled Leo, "That maraca voice told me!" "What voice?" asked Calypso. "In my dreams, every night, threatening revenge!" shot back Leo. Calypso stared with gaping eyes, Leo wasn't one to be this serious, not to mention she was having the dream too. In fact, just about any other rogue demigod they had come across were having the same dream too. All over the place, South Africa, Spain, Timbuktu, you name it. On the bright side, she did learn how Peter Piper pickled a peck of Peckled Peppers! Something big was coming, Calypso was sure of_ _it._

Flashing back into reality, Calypso barely missed the rest of Poseidon's speech. Honestly, the gods were STILL so predictable, even after all these millenia. "Deducing from Athena's library archives," started Poseidon, "We have concluded that this gem fell to the Earth itself eons ago, from the roots of the sky itself." Calypso swore she heard something about cursing Athena's libraries under Poseidon's breath. "All I know, Zeus had no part in this, so this is mystifying," sighed Poseidon. Calypso had a hunch on what it might have been at first, but no..., that was crossed out. The only other possibility was an impossibility. _He_, or it, was too far gone to even whisper back in the realm of consciousness. But if _He_, or _they_ were coming, that would be an impossible battle to win. No, that couldn't happen, it was too much, Calypso knew.

"Where did you find that gem?" asked that guy, Frank. To Calypso, he looked really, really tall, and kind of chubby too, with this really cute Canadian Baby Man face.  
"And that's where we come in," began a voice Calypso knew shouldn't be here. In the middle of the_ agora_, a rainbow materialized, and swirled and swiped until it formed the basis of an Iris Message. "Jason!" cried Annabeth, waving her hand. Calypso remembered the son of Zeus, er, Jupiter, from a few days ago. He was Piper's fiance, if Calypso was correct. Either way, Jason's face appeared in the Iris Message. "Uh hey guys," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Piper's kind of busy, so I'm, uh, filling in for her." "Anyway, that gem we're talking about here came from Mother Rhea!" "Wait, Rhea?" cried Percy. Poseidon's eyes widened, "Oh insipid mother..." Calypso had to smirk there, now Poseidon was getting one-upped from his own mother.

Apparently Rhea was pretty willing to give up her little possession or something, since she passed it on to Piper, who passed it on to a chain of messengers leading all the way back to Alice Masters. Well, that's the short version Jason gave them. "-And, in essence," began Jason, "She says it isn't the best idea to go poking around where we're not wanted." Poseidon threw his hands up in the air, "CURSE YOU MOTHER!" In that moment, he swore, did a backflip, summoning two dolphins in sequence, and dissipating out of sight. "YES, TEN POINTS!" screamed Percy, pumping up his fist. "Shut up," groaned a really, really creepy goth, uh, e-emo guy in the corner, who was clutching a gauntlet or something. "Victory is mine!" cackled Leo, and Calypso punched him in the arm, shutting him up. Annabeth did the same, making Percy whimper.

Jason seemed to awkwardly rub his hands, realizing that he was now the center of attention. "Uh, look at the time, Piper needs me, bye!" With a swish of his hand, he dissolved the message, and the_ agora_ descended into awkward silence. Calypso did a silent groan, Poseidon was wimp enough to run away from his own mother, leaving them all hanging. Speaking of which, where was the-, oh there it was! The gem was sitting on top of a poor, unconscious Frank. "Trauma ward!" shouted Annabeth, as a medical team rushed in, carrying a stretcher. Calypso swore people, for some odd reason, were having more head injuries every day, especially since Frank passed out when he saw Leo for the first time, again. There was this blond guy at the head, dragging Frank out. Calypso saw the weird emo guy wave and smile at that blond guy. Maybe they were really good friends?

"Uh, so," started Percy, breaking the silence. "I uh, suppose we find out what we're facing here?" Everyone muttered and shrugged, sort of agreeing-ish. Honestly, this totally stunk, sticking around, waiting and waiting for something to happen. Jason, Piper and the others were having all the fun! Calypso heard that after the Giant War, the three-person quest thing got thrown out of the trash bag. Well, it sort of made sense, considering it took seven people to defeat a crazy, bloodthirsty Earth Mother who just so happened to be Calypso's grandmother. Yeah, it's a small world out there. Ironic considering Gaea was, well, the world. Until she got KA-BOOMED by a quarter-mile explosion! Calypso wished she was there to see that, and throw rotten tomatoes on her grandmother's face. "Everyone needs to split up into groups!" stated Annabeth, "Investigate at your own free will, the sooner we find out what's happening here, the sooner we can get this over with!"

Great, Calypso knew she was going to have to go do some CSI investigating or something. She knew it was some sort of crime-show thingy. "Wanna be on my team?" grinned Leo, turning toward Calypso. "I was on your team for a long, long time Leo," snorted Calypso, tickling his nose. "YES, Team Leo is alive!" yelled Leo, jumping in the air like a demented elf drinking one cappuccino of hot chocolate too many. "I have one thing in mind Leo," began Calypso, starting to frown. Leo's grin faded, "What is it Cal?" Calypso knew what she was about to say was dangerous, but there wasn't really another option if they wanted to find out what was happening here. One of the most dangerous places on the planet was about to get just a tad bit more dangerous. Their only hope might actually lie in what Calypso was hoping to find there.

"Leo, get Festus ready," started Calypso, "We leave in two days' time!" Leo saluted, "SIR, YES SIR!" Calypso was interrupted by Leo swooping her off her feet, and giving her a chaste kiss. Calypso felt a little giddy, and dazed. Leo was stronger than he looked; Calypso hoped others would take her word for it. "LEO!" howled Calypso, as Leo dropped her on the ground, and hightailed it out of the _agora_. "Uh, well that was awkward," started Annabeth, walking past Calypso, with Percy in tow. Calypso growled, that stupid Annabeth girl should really, really stay out of it! Brushing off her short thingies, Calypso scrambled off the ground as everyone broke off in their own groups, off to who knows what the Atlas where. Calypso had to admit some of these shorts were really comfortable, though she did enjoy still wearing dresses from time to time. At least you can stuff weapons in shorts, Calypso had enough experience with that. Her Glock .22 millimeter Magnum was still in her back holster.

Calypso felt pukey, being chased for her life most of the morning. Maybe being the equivalent of a demigod wasn't the most fun idea in the entire world. Shaking it off, she ducked in the nearest cafe on the street. Maybe a cup of coffee would de-stressify her a little bit. Calypso noticed the cafe was structured off oak wood, with shades of frilly pink adorning the sides. The sign said Cafe _Silena_-something. It sounded like a pretty name to Calypso, though it did seem sort of French to her too. Shoving through the glass door as the bell rang, Calypso noticed half-a-dozen tables strewed around, with romantic music playing. Just great, a cafe for horny couples or something, but whatever. Calypso was going to get a cup of coffee, even if it killed her. Slamming some golden drachmas on the counter, and barely muttering her order to a brown-haired man, Calypso sat down.

Glimpsing out of a window, Calypso saw a spear. That spear..., it reminded her of all these years ago, at the beginning of the war itself. _"And he ripped Ouranos himself, scattering him across the world!" roared Atlas, shaking his spear. A young Calypso gleamed with pride at her father. "And what happened next?" she questioned, crossing her legs. "The Titans came to rule, and so we shall!" boomed Atlas. "The opposition of the gods will be punished! What hope do they have against our forces?" The young Calypso stared at awe at her father, he could do anything! Surely that insurgent Zeus wouldn't be stupid enough to attack her father, commander of the Titan army? Especially as his brothers ripped the being of Ouranos himself! No, the Titans would win this! Calypso swore to help any way she could, for victory!_

Shaking out of her thoughts, Calypso had to laugh bitterly. Oh, how wrong she was. Seeing her father in a new light all these years later disturbed her, albeit she still honored and respected him. Now there he was, holding the weight of the world itself, bearing the crushing weight of the sky. Calypso did have to admit the gods were still better, but not by much. Sure, their flings with mortals were commendable, but their efforts were so rare. The gods seemed to have problems seeing how the human race could really be, compared to their _'oh so powerful'_ mightiness. Calypso was still old by human standards, whether she liked it or not. She was certainly old enough to remember the very thing she was looking for; the said thing having something of tremendous power that could turn out to be very, very important anyhow.

The brown-haired man plopped a cup of coffee next to Calypso and smiled. "Hey, do you-," began the man. Calypso waved him off, "I'm taken, plus I'm easily over three-thousand years old, you don't stand a chance." The man paled, and muttered an apology, stalking off. Calypso smiled, she enjoyed scaring the living Atlas out of anyone who had an average mortal lifespan. The crowd earlier today scared Calypso for once though, they certainly weren't scared. It was almost as if they could actually see what was going on, which would be impossible, right? After all, not that many clear-sighted mortals would be in one place, it was literally impossible. Gah, Mother Rhea, threats, and swirling enemies were taking over Calypso's mind right now. She was sure she never had that much going on for at least two-millenia. Well, probably not ever.

The spear was just laying around on a pillar outside, but Calypso knew it wasn't the actual spear. She would know the spear of her father on sight, though the markings were similar. Brandishing it off, Calypso knew that Leo was her family now. He came for her when no one else would, making her smile and lift her up. Granted, he was stupidly annoying at times, but made up for it with his chivalry, er, jokesterness. Riding on a totally awesome bronze dragon wasn't bad on her list either, it was pretty fun in general. The world was sweet too, but it had changed_ so much._ Calypso felt so sorry for the gods, they would never experience the chance of being mortal. They would be doomed living for all eternity, never knowing what it really meant to be human. It drove them crazy, Calypso knew. It was obvious in their erratic and brash personalities.

Sometimes, the price of immortality wasn't really worth it. After all, all things end, Calypso could feel it. Nothing would ever truly last forever, though the memories and times would always there. Great, now she was getting really, really cheesy. Taking another sip of her coffee, Calypso planned for the trip. Granted it would be long, dangerous, and sluggish, but she hoped the end result would be worth it. First off, she was probably going to need that Frank guy again..., he seemed useful, especially since Calypso found out that he could shapeshift. She didn't know about many of these, but Frank had a unique ability. He really shouldn't waste that, as it was usually a gift reserved for immortals. The blood of Pylos flew through his veins. Calypso had heard Frank didn't get along with Leo at first, and she giggled. Who would? Leo was brash to anyone who first met him, though he did deserve some slapping. Stifling a groan, Calypso wondered how the next few days were going to play out.

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	15. XV: Calypso

**Hey guys! Gotta post this quick due to deadline! I'll talk more about my daily happenings in the next chapter ;D (Literally posted 3 mins before due date)**

**Reviews:**

**-Court, good to hear the laughs, keep 'em coming!**

**-LoveDystopia, Thanks for the long review again! Much appreciated, and I enjoy reading your random thoughts. Good to know you were suffering from feels, that was the reason I put it there. OR/AS comes out TOMORROW FOR ME! Going to hop on over and get my own copy ;D.**

**-Hippodog, Thanks for the reviews! It seems that you're new to this story, so welcome! Thanks for telling me what your own thoughts were when reading, it allows me to know what's going on in someone's perspective!  
**

**-percyjacksonismy8, I am a very dedicated guy. Expect many chapter updates to be posted over my winter break next month. Literally, 2 and a half weeks of doing absolutely nothing, buried in snow. I will so easily be able to do a chapter or two every day then. I'm dedicated to this fandom, and willing to do whatever it takes to stick with ya guys! I'm here to stay, you ain't getting rid of me all that easy ;D.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus belongs to Uncle Rick.**

***Yes, some words do not exist, again, mind of demigods here.**

**Enjoy!**

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**XV: Calypso**

**Calypso hated the smell of burning flesh**. That was her first thought when the coffee dunked all over her arms. Just great, it probably wasn't the best idea to balance her coffee as she was trying to open the door. Calypso barely stifled a scream; her nerves were far more attuned now that she was mortal. What also really got on her nerves was that fat, jolly man known as 'Santa Claus'. She honestly didn't know why mortals chose to worship the red man, who obviously had one cookie too many. Calypso groaned as she hopped back and forth on the pavement in front of the coffee shop. "Hey, Calypso!" said a new voice. Calypso turned to see a waving Reyna jogging over to her side. "Pluto's pauldrons, what happened to you?" cursed Reyna, as she attempted to rub some coffee off of Calypso. Calypso shivered with relief as that hot liquid was finally freed from her arms. Stupid mortals and their coffee!

Well, at least Reyna was here, she was a good friend at least. Calypso admired Reyna's battle ferociousness, and the two became quick friends. "You nearly gave me a heart attack there," muttered Reyna, composing herself. "Reyna, afraid of coffee?" mockingly gasped Calypso. "Shut it," grumbled Reyna, smoothing out her praetor's cape. "Three-thousand years of experience tells me otherwise," smirked Calypso. "Three-thousand years of _schist_ is what it is," shot back Reyna. "I was just going out for a coffee, but uh...," she trailed. Calypso groaned, of course it had to happen just literally. "Weren't you going to do something with your Legion or something?" asked Calypso. "Eh, I'll let them have their fun," shrugged Reyna. "Though, I do need someone to check on Camp Jupiter or something," she added. Calypso felt empowered with an idea to help Reyna out there.

"You know, I was just going out there soon," started Calypso. "Well, more like somewhere near the general area." Reyna looked confused. "Why?" she asked. Calypso stroked her chin. There was something especially special near the Bay Area she really, really had to go to to get some answers. Well, not like _'bathroom'_ had to go, but more like desperately wanted to go. Mother of Atlas, her twisters were really getting wrapped up. Nothing good could probably come out of whatever Calypso was needing to do, but it could help the cause. Atlas forbid she was going to have to face yet more screwy stuff in her life. It was almost as bad as trying these grape pits one time, but not as bad as a Mariachi band. Calypso shuddered at the thought of that music, she really needed soap right now. "Hm, you could send one of yours to check with us," suggested Calypso.

Calypso wasn't looking forward to what she was going to have to face. But unfortunately, _He_ would probably be the one to provide the answers she needed. On the plus side, she supposed _He_ was pretty much incapacitated at the moment. Calypso had to grin, this could turn out to be far better than she had expected. "Hey, Calypso, you okay?" asked Reyna, snapping her fingers. Calypso's heart ached out for Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arenallo. She too had her own share of heartbreaks. Especially by none other than Percy Jackson, and Calypso was absolutely sure that she wanted to slap him later. In fact, she made a mental note to do that later."Shouldn't you be finding Leo or something?" questioned Reyna, "The sooner you get a move on, the better." Calypso breathed through her nose, "Now, if I can find that idiot..."

"Calypso," said Reyna, "He's always going to be an idiot, don't forget that." Calypso smirked, Leo wasn't always the best at things, especially when his stupidity showed up. With a grunt, Calypso pulled out a glass-faced device with a blinking dot on the middle. It appeared that the tracking mechanism seemed to be pointing northwest. Reyna gaped, "What is that?" "It's my Leo-Tracker," smugly replied Calypso. "Due to his idiotness and lack of directions, I made this to find him wherever he goes!" "Uh, doesn't that seem, I don't know, stalkerish?" asked Reyna. "For someone like Leo, no," said Calypso. Reyna shrugged in agreement, and glimpsed at the device. "It's cloaked with magic and a few circuit-bypasses to avoid detection by the general populace," droned Calypso. Reyna poked at it, "That seems technologically advanced, even for you." "Eh, Leo taught me a few things," shrugged Calypso.

Reyna blinked, "So this is now the cliche, _let's go find Leo_?" Calypso nodded, "Precisely, my dear Watson." "Since when did you do an impressionist of Sherlock Holmes?" frowned Reyna. Calypso coughed, "A couple hundred years, maybe?" She wasn't sure when she got the first Sherlock Holmes book from Hermes or something, but she was pretty sure it was sometime in the eighteen-hundred time area. The signal pointed in the general area of Camp Half-Blood. Of course, Leo was most likely in the forges with the others or something, it had been a while. "Reyna, you coming with?" inquired Calypso. Reyna shrugged, "I got nothing better to do, sure!" The girls walked off, heading out of the streets of New Athens. It had just occurred to Calypso that New Athens was slightly more crowded than she had originally thought, especially with the several stories tall buildings clustered around various plazas. Dozens of people were easily milling about the streets.

A ten-foot wide arch greeted Calypso at the very edge of New Athens. "I've always admired this, to say the least," stated Reyna, gesturing to the valley that lay just beyond this. The screaming of about ten people reached Calypso's ears and Reyna reached for the pommel of her sword. "Jupiter's bolt, what the...," she began. Half of the valley had several small bonfires scattered all over the place. "Praetor!" boomed a new voice. Calypso recognized the form of Scott, that guy who blew up the flare, run toward Reyna. "Is it normal for a fire-breathing, mechanical dragon to burn half the valley?!" he screamed. His tanned, white skin was flushed red, and his brown hair was frayed in every way. Calypso and Reyna both shared a knowing look. _Yup, fire-breathing dragon this way equals a very, very stupid Leo. This isn't going to be good..._

"Praetor, I demand it be incarcerated at once!" demanded Scott. Reyna waved her arm, "Scott, Festus is merely friendly, this is his way of saying hello." Calypso had to agree, the bronze dragon had ways of showing his lack of emotional apparition. "B-but," spluttered Scott, "First, the flare, now this!" "Smack it up solider, or it's cleanup duty for a week!" growled Reyna, clutching her cavalry sword now. Scott barely muttered some words under his breath, wanting to avoid his praetor's wrath. With a casual nod, he strode off across the plain, grumbling the entire way. "Sometimes, I'll never get that strange, strange boy," muttered Reyna. Calypso felt the same, considering he picked up a live flare. Whoever let him in the Roman camp couldn't have had the brightest of minds. Wait, it was most probably Octavian, scratch that. At least what Calypso heard about that little idiot was the fact he died.

"GRAK!" roared a familiar voice that had to make Calypso smile. The few people near Reyna and Calypso scrambled for cover as a certain bronze dragon floated down from the sky. The roar of Festus penetrated the air as he landed on the ground with a hiss. Shaking his mane, the bronze dragon nuzzled Calypso's stomach. Chuckling, Calypso pulled out a bottle of Tabasco sauce and poured it down Festus' maw. Next to her, Reyna shook her head in amazement. "Leo really did this?" she asked, admiring Festus. Calypso nodded with a grin, Festus was a very, very special boy. He was sort of a puppy, all cute and loyal. But then again, most puppies aren't a huge, bronze fire-breathing dragon capable of toasting every house withing a full mile radius. Festus' improvements were a whirlwind to Calypso, especially for some of the most intricate of his upgrades.

Calypso tapped on Festus' armor plating with her delicate fingers, spelling out Morse code. It wasn't hard learning how to do it, especially with Leo's hands guiding her. Sometimes, she swore the dragon enjoyed her company more than Leo, which was probably true. The little elf just didn't have the tender hands that Festus enjoyed. The machine-guns equipped in a storage containment on Festus' back was super-insane, firing at a rate of sixty bullets per second. On the bright side, the world was free of one-hundred less annoying harpies! A casual tune played out of Festus' radio, a sound Calypso recognized as the Beach Boys. Reyna turned her head to the side, with a puzzled look on her face. "Isn't that the-," she began. Calypso nodded, Festus had this obsessive penchant for the Beach Boys, jamming up the airwaves with it. Other than that, he proved to be the most loyal of companions, especially on that day...

_The disturbance of venti were getting far worse. At least the name was easier to remember than the Greek term or something. Calypso's heart raced as Festus shot across the night sky, his wings deployed in battle-mode. In front of her, Leo perched on the driving seat, a determined look on his face as he urged Festus on. The attacks were getting extremely random. Sometimes stopping for a full month, and starting back up again. The wind spirits were getting restless, Calypso could tell that much. It was nuts trying to out-shake them, considering they were sort of in the air. The click of a button resonated as Leo activated the rear cannons, deploying directly behind Calypso. Calypso clutched her ears as the sixty bullets per second firing began. Venti screeched and shrieked as they were ripped over and over by the constant firing of the turrets._

_Sometimes, Calypso wasn't sure how this was going to play out. After Gaea's defeat, she was sure things were going to settle down. Gaea was among the last line of primordials, destined to tie into the Earth. Now, as the howling screams of venti reached her ears, Calypso snuggled further into the waist of Leo. After all this craziness, she was pretty sure it was time to settle down a bit. The monster attacks were unnerving her, and it certainly wasn't from the .55 millimeter Glock tucked under the direct compartment. With a howl, the screeching settled down as the guns retracted back into their compartment. Calypso noticed Leo was muttering to himself, looking ghastly. Since that talk about the dreams not long ago, the son of Hephaestus looked slightly more ill. What possibly could be at work here, Calypso didn't know. It was inevitable that something else was coming. But no, she couldn't tell Leo, not_ yet.

Okay, WOW, that was a time warp. Calypso shook these thoughts out of her mind with a dazed look on her face. These remembrances into the past were getting absolutely crazy, with another apocalypse happening or something. Reyna nudged Calypso's elbow, "Shouldn't we get a move on?" Calypso groaned, that was probably the second or third time Reyna said that today, she really needed to start paying attention. Stepping on the trail leading through the accursed valley of _her-ex-who-will-not-be-named,_ Calypso turned toward Reyna. '"So, Rey, anyone special?" Reyna nearly tripped over a stone and landed on the pommel of her sword. "W-what?" she spluttered, with confusion all over her face. Calypso sighed, "Face it Rey, we need you get you a boyfriend or something." "Don't call me that!" growled Reyna, dusting off her blue cut-off shorts. The fashion statement of a praetor's robe with blue shorts weren't the best, but whatever. Calypso estimated that it was about a hundred meters from where they started walking from the arch.

Festus saddled up to Calypso's side, humming softly from his vents. "I am perfectly fine Cal," boldly said Reyna, holding her head up high. Calypso tsk tsked, watching Reyna's gaze. Calypso wasn't an Aphrodite girl, but Reyna obviously needed something in her life. No offense or anything, but she probably cried over a tub of ice-cream every time someone rejected her. Calypso knew that happened to herself, when the last couple guys left her island. It was, erm, a joy, NOT! In the name of Atlas, Calypso was going to help her new-found best friend out! Now, just to find a handsome, dashing guy who would be willing to get beat up by the praetor of New Rome. Hmm, perhaps someone with a mostly small ego? "As I was saying...," droned Reyna, "I really do suggest you take Frank with you to the city, he has some of the praetor access codes."

"Well, I was meaning to take Frank," began Calypso. Reyna stopped once more on the gravel path, next to a grove of trees in the valley. "And you're saying this because...," she began. "Frank's gift is sorely underestimated," stated Calypso. "His shape-shifting is detrimental to the task I need him for..." "Mind asking me why you're talking like a creepy old soothsayer?" blinked Reyna. Calypso casually shrugged, "Three-thousand years does a lot to somebody." Out of the corner of her eye, Calypso saw the outskirts of Camp Half-Blood on the horizon, with the Golden Fleece shimmering in the sunlight. With a roar, Festus bolted past Calypso and barreled into Peleus, keeper of the Fleece. Reyna chuckled and she saw the two dragons roughhouse with each other, and Calypso had to do the same. Festus was overly enthusiastic to say the least, having another fire-resistant playmate.

Calypso felt like a new camper, entering out of the valley and climbing up the slope of Half-Blood Hill. Now behind her, Peleus and Festus thumped and crashed on the ground, wrestling with each other. Calypso honestly thought they were competing to win the title of _World's Best Dragon._ Reyna sighed, "A handful aren't they?" Calypso had to agree, at least she wasn't responsible for babysitting them. Facing a couple _cyclopes_ would be better than getting trampled underfoot by caffeinated-crazed dragons. "D-Dakota?" stammered Reyna as Calypso gazed at the foot of Thalia's pine. Laid against the base was a drunk Roman legionnaire, with a red-stained mouth. "Looks like your legionnaires have been busy," muttered Calypso. "You have no idea," groaned Reyna, "Being with Greeks for too long makes 'em go wacko." With a gasp, Calypso laid a hand on Reyna's shoulder. "Rey, you don't mean that!"

"Eh, well, you know what I mean," grumbled Reyna. Calypso smirked, "I know, I was joking." "At this point, I'm going to stab myself," muttered Reyna, starting to storm down the hill. Calypso chuckled again, and took off after the praetor. The buildings of Camp Half-Blood caught Calypso's eye. The cabins of the camp fanned around in various omegas. Calypso counted at least four different omegas, each having cabins filled in its shape. They were joined together by four marble streets, arraying in a detrimental arc. Walking across the common green of the camp brought a wave of nostalgia upon Calypso. Pulling out her tracker, it pointed where she thought it would be, the forges. "Looks like you were right Cal," spoke Reyna, "Flame-Boy is in there alright." "I told you he would be," huffed Calypso, opening the intricate, metal door. The door whirred and clicked as she entered the forges of Hephaestus' children.

Calypso didn't expect seeing Leo hanging upside-down from the ceiling with a rope attached to his right leg. What was more unexpected was the frantic children of Hephaestus sawing the rope, trying to get Leo down. Taking a quick glance around the forge, Calypso saw A LOT of traps and weapons streamed around the various steel tables littering the room. A iron forge belched smoke in the center, drifting off to a gap in the ceiling. Next to Calypso, Reyna slowly clapped. "Valdez has done it once more, ladies and gentlemen," she smirked. Leo crossed his arms, which was weird upside-down, "Nobody does it but Leo!" Calypso snorted there, it was sort of stupidish. A small Hephaestus kid, maybe ten-years old, pried through the rope and sent Leo flying to the ground. With a sharp _crack_, Leo's head thunked on the ground. Calypso winced, that HAD to hurt.

With a wince, Leo rolled over to his side. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how it is done, LEO STYLE!" "You mean_ Leo Fail_," corrected Calypso, pulling the son of Hephaestus to his feet. "What in the name of Bellona's Bashers were you doing?" asked Reyna. Leo gestured to the campers behind him, "I was merely demonstrating the awesomeness of my return, in the form of a rope trap!" "The awesomeness of your fail?" questioned Reyna, pointing an accusing finger at Leo. The campers behind him broke into snickers of laughter. "Dear Reyna," sighed Leo, "My general awesomeness is too much for you to behold, blinding you eyes!" "This very rope trap is a form of capture, weaseling out even the most daft harpy!"

Calypso swore Leo looked a little cross-eyed, probably still dazed from his fall just moments ago. "Leo, you need to rest, and Festus is acting up with Peleus, _again_!" Leo sighed, "Not again!" "Alright," he turned to the campers, "My awesomeness is for another day, please leave!" Leo gestured with a shooing motion out of the door. With a grumble, the campers dispersed. As the door shut, Reyna and Calypso turned to Leo. If Calypso was going to tell Leo the plan, now was the time. The idea was in her mind when she was sitting in the coffee shop, but now was the time. "There's a plan, Leo," began Calypso. The son of Hephaestus hefted up a hammer, gazed at Calypso, and said the very words she wanted to hear. "I'm game, what's up?"

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**Like? Review, Review, Review!**


	16. XVI: Calypso

***December 12, 2014 Update: Hey all! I know I've been absent for a while... Just know this fanfic is NOT being absent. The reason for the lack of updates is that my Christmas break is coming up. I've been planning for a long, long time on what to type over break. So, expect a chapter nearly every single day in the 2 1/2 weeks that I am off ;D. In all, I hope to get 10-15 chapters, within that range, done over break. It starts on the 19th, next week, so stay tuned for that!**

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**Hey guys! My network, Behemoth Network, has been going well, so I'm quite busy at this point! Like I said, I'm still generating rather frequent updates (biweekly it would seem), so expect that! Come Christmas, I will have alot of free time on my hands to create more chapters. Have fun reading!**

**Again, thank you guys for supporting this story... WE HIT 50 REVIEWS, WOOOOOHOOO YUSSSS. I plan to do something special once we hit milestones I will post on further chapters. Enjoy the read!**

**Now... for the reviews!**

**-Guest, Thanks for the review! Good to hear you're liking this story!**

**-Court, Thanks for the review! Good to see you laughing at some of these parts. After all, there is humor mixed in with the story ;D. And yes, there will be Percy chapters eventually. The reason why he hasn't popped up yet is because I'm saving him for last... The best for last, after all.**

**-LoveDystopia, Ah yes, thank you for the amazing review yet again. I have news... I got Omega Ruby yesterday! Holy cow, it exceeds all expectations. Hoenn in 3D is amazing. I've just beaten Wattson at Mauville. They've made Mauville the definite Capital of Hoenn now, and changed the entire city into a indoor mall... wow. It's amazing to say the least, and ties in with Luminose City in Kalos. Anyway, yeah the Calypso chapters are establishing chapters, and it does help advance the story alot. More flashbacks for you for this chapter ;D. Also, this chapter is the legendary Percy/Calypso confrontation... Just the two of them. *Cackle, enjoy!***

**-BadMonkey, Thanks for the review! You compliment me ;D. And don't you mean Will and Nico...? XD. Eh, we'll see, considering on how things go and my belief on things. I don't want to delve too much considering it's going to create biased opinions, but there will be chapters having Nico work with Will in one of the later books though. And thanks, I will continue being awesome ;D.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Mr. Rick Riordian, our little troller.**

**Without further ado... enjoy Calypso's final chapter! The showdown... Calypso v. Percy!**

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**XVI: Calypso**

**The spontaneous combustion of Leo's hair did little to reassure Calypso. ** The son of Hephaestus looked like he just slapped a puppy in the face. "So, basically what you're saying is this, you're going to stare down your sorry state of a father?" growled Leo. Next to Calypso, Reyna shuffled nervously. Leo was definitely smoking now, in the literal form of hotness. Calypso did have to admit that her idea wasn't the best out there. But considering that no one else had some good leads, her father was the best bet. Now Calypso could grill him for some information, considering that he was trapped under the groaning weight of the sky. If anyone alive could shed some light on this mysterious 'threat', Atlas could. Calypso wasn't that stupid to realize that the Age of the Titans had garnered many threats, especially not just by the gods. Besides, Calypso grinned at the thought of grilling her father for information.

"So," started Leo, "You're taking my awesomeness for another super-dangerous quest?" "Yup, pretty much," nodded Calypso. "With luck, it shouldn't be too difficult though." Well, Calypso hoped it wasn't going to be too difficult. But then again, demigod life was kind of screwy. That, and mortal-ish Titans. Calypso turned to Reyna, "What are your thoughts Rey?" Reyna shrugged, and sat herself on top of one of the worktables. "Good luck with that," she mentioned, grabbing onto a water bottle nearby, and sipping on it. Besides taking the occasional glance at Leo, Reyna was acting pretty casually. In all, Calypso thought that Reyna was taking it pretty well, considering she was looking at someone who was thought to be dead. A fire-burning Latino falling from the sky couldn't have been good for the nerves of just..., well, about everyone. Calypso wouldn't be surprised if Reyna had a heart attack on the way.

With a grunt, Leo whipped a notepad from one of his back pockets, and pulled out a pencil. "Hmm, what we need, what we need," he muttered. Reyna raised her hand, swinging her legs from the table, "A bigger brain?" That comment made Calypso snicker, and caused Leo to gasp. "Are..., are you insulting my intelligence?" gasped Leo, placing his right hand on his heart. "Yes, yes I am," bluntly stated Reyna, twirling the water bottle around. Leo dropped his pencil, and jabbed a finger at Reyna. "Now here,-" he started. Calypso stepped forward, and pushed Leo back. "Leo, this is no time to be fighting," she growled. "Ah, fine _chica_," grumbled Leo, waving a hand away and plopping himself in a corner. Calypso was slightly taken aback by this, Leo wasn't usually like this. Well, he should be making some sort of joke right now, but he was probably stressed out.

The door to the forges slammed open, making Calypso and Leo jump. Reyna still sat on the table, unfazed by all this. The person who walked through the door made Calypso's heart twist and turn in, well, heartbreak. The form of Percy Jackson, with his windswept black hair, sea-green eyes, and tanned skin entered the doorway, carrying a curved decor of bronze. "Uh, Leo," wheezed Percy, "A little help here?" In the corner of her eye, Calypso saw Leo's eyes narrow down to a narrow slit. "Uh, sure...," casually drawled Leo, throwing down his notepad too. Calypso felt the room go awkwardly silent, minus Reyna tapping a bottle, and the grunts of the boys lugging in the large sheet of bronze. The thought of Percy Jackson in the room made her blood boil, her head pound, and not to mention a few other things. Percy looked sweaty, to say the least.

"Uh, Festus was having some problems or something," groaned Percy, releasing the bronze armor onto the floor. "His wing or something is molting." "Also, Annabeth sent me to discuss a few things," he also added. Calypso's brain nearly short-circuited, since when did Percy talk professionally like that? Usually he seemed to be the Kelp-Head that other people called him. "Um, so," started Percy, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "So what?" asked Reyna, jumping down from the table she was perched on, "Cat got your tongue?" "Well, that did happen once," stated Percy. Calypso looked confused, and was about to ask. "Don't ask," said Percy, hopping from one foot to the other. "Y'know, you could have helped more," panted Leo, collapsing on the floor. Percy looked confused, "But you carried only like a third of the weight..."

"So, what's up Perce?" asked the son of Hephaestus. Calypso's gazed followed to a folder that Percy pulled out from his jacket pocket. It looked dusty, and kind of old-looking. "Annabeth dug this up from one of her library archives, it had some information regarding these shadow thingies," explained Percy. Calypso snatched the folder from Percy's right hand, and browsed its contents. Pictures upon pictures of these creepy blob things that Calypso had encountered earlier decorated both sides of the file. Dates and names of sightings were decked on a couple of lists, clipped to the pictures. How the freaking Atlas people were able to compile this sort of information, Calypso didn't know. "Uh, there was another sort of thing," mentioned Percy, starting to look a little pale. Reyna jerked her head to look at Percy's face, "Mind explaining what _other_ thing we're talking about here?"

"Uh, when me and Annabeth," began Percy. "Annabeth and I," corrected Calypso, feeling irritated. Percy's face reddened slightly, "Er, right, anyway, when we were down in _that place_, the stuff looks really, really familiar." Calypso's gaze rested on Percy's now trembling face, looking a bit constricted. Leo motioned for Percy to continue, while still gripping the bronze plating. "There was this Mansion of Night thing, and, well, shadow-thingies were all over that place." Calypso instantly knew what Percy was talking about, down in that place where no sane being should ever be going. "Uh, anyway," continued Percy, rubbing his hands, "There's the possible idea of Nyx rising or something considering she likes all these shadow thingies?" "Wait, Nyx?" gaped Reyna, taking a few steps toward Percy. Leo raised his hand, "Hey, as much as I like doomful, yet bloodthirsty shadows, who's Nyx?"

Calypso resisted the urge to facepalm herself right now. Fortunately, Reyna did that for her. "You really don't pay attention, don't you Leo?" she grumbled. "Hey, it's not my fault if teachers can't muster the strength to teach the blinding light that is Leo!" he exclaimed. To Calypso's right, Percy blinked awkwardly. "Basically, Nyx is the personification of night itself, explained Reyna, "Any level-headed praetor would know that." Leo stammered nervously, "Uh so we're fighting night itself or something? Won't it be hard poking her or what?" "Nyx is one of the most ancient primordials born out of Chaos itself, of course it's going to be hard," sarcastically added Reyna. "She-she's not easy," muttered Percy, who looked like he was going to faint any moment. "There's no definite proof of that," stated Reyna, pacing back and forth across the room irritatingly.

Calypso resisted the urge to laugh at the others right now. When were these foolhardy mortals going to realize a deception when they saw it? If Nyx was coming, there would certainly be a far different sign indicating that. Most likely, these creatures were just borrowed from Night herself to lead everyone astray. Being three-thousand years old did help Calypso in a way, she could see things that others couldn't. Stories from her father, The Age of the Titans itself, swirled through her mind. Calypso knew things the gods themselves didn't, and this was a case of it. Indications were always there for the waking of ancients, and this _WAS NOT_ Nyx, Calypso knew that. Tsk, mortals really did fall for too many clever traps. Whoever this enemy was, he or she knew how to get around detection. It certainly reminded Calypso of the time_ It_ got away. Gazing at Leo, she remembered his shuddering dreams, giving her a clue as to what their enemy might be.

_Running through the jungles of Brazil was really irritating Calypso. She didn't know why she convinced Leo to stop here, most likely because she was insane. Calypso could smell the scent in the breeze, following its trail. She was following up on the dreams everyone was STILL having. Leo was getting slightly worse, and didn't seem to be looking much better. Festus did all he could, but comforting the son of Hephaestus was not an easy task. Calypso had to sigh, their world vacation would have to be put on hold until she could find whatever it is that she needed to find. The venti attack the other day, easily repelled by Festus' machine guns, was unnerving. While they weren't TOO attack-ish whenever the world was silent, this was taking a notch up the attacking scale. The disturbance of wind spirits were very odd, appearing one month, and stopping another day._

_Holding nothing but Glister, Calypso stopped in a small clearing. The __whiff of the wind surrounded Calypso, alerting her to the presence of nearby venti. "Calypso...," whispered a voice. Calypso really thought it was a bad idea leaving Leo along the coast with Festus now. She certainly would have liked the bronze dragon as backup. Shrugging the voice off, Calypso broke into a even faster run, teetering on the edge of a gnarled root. Holy Atlas..., this was really starting to get unnerving. But then again, Calypso was sure exotic places were kind of fun. At least she knew why Leo described some of her features as coffee now... Finally, the break Calypso was looking for came ahead. A stone face one-hundred feet from her came into view. Slowing down to a walk, Calypso gazed upon its features. A small chink in the ground laid in front of Calypso. The very chink she was looking for..._

_With a yell, Calypso stabbed Glister into the chink, electing a groaning rumble from the ground beneath her. Looking directly into the face, Calypso shouted out the following commands: "Omega, Atlas Five-One, Authorization, Sixty-Six!" With a rumble, the face collapsed on itself, revealing a small altar. If anyone else was with Calypso, she would consider it anti-climatic for them. A small vial rested on top of a small stone, bubbling and churning. The liquid inside the vial was pure black, and looked absolutely NASTY. But Calypso really didn't care all that much, it was going to help Leo. The vial itself easily fit inside the palm of her hand, its cool touch electing a shudder through Calypso. With a huff, Calypso grabbed the vial from its place, and turned back into the jungle. Getting Leo cured with the help of the vial was essential, and was the only thing on Calypso's_ _mind._

"WOW," thought Calypso. That was quite possibly one of her longest flashbacks yet. Shaking back into the land of reality, Calypso noticed Leo and Percy talking in hushed silence. Reyna stared at the floor, lost in thought. "It's not Nyx," blurted out Calypso, making the others turn to her. "What do you mean it's not Nyx?" frowned Reyna, looking even more agitated. Percy rubbed his head, "But-, we're sure it has something to do with it..." Calypso had to snort, "And that's where you're wrong!" "I know enough about things to know what happens and what doesn't, and this isn't her." "Calypso mentioned talking to her father to get some answers or something," piped up Leo, stroking his chin. Calypso swore if Leo was trying to grow a beard, she was going to slap him. "What?!" shouted Percy, "Your pathetic state of a father?!"

Fury raged in Calypso as she slapped Percy across his left cheek. Leo and Reyna's eyes shot up in surprise, and they took ten steps back. They were easily trembling, most likely because this just became a cage-bull showdown. Percy stumbled back, and landed on one of the workshop tables. "What was that for?!" exclaimed Percy, clutching his throbbing cheek. "You may say many things about my father, but pathetic is not one of them," growled Calypso. While she didn't condone her father's actions, part of her still held him in regard. And by Atlas himself, she wasn't going to let some demigod get away with that insult. "And you," growled Calypso, dealing a swift punch to Percy's stomach, "Need to learn some _freaking_ manners!" "Well, there's something wrong with him anyway, he tried to kill me!" yelled Percy. Calypso felt her vision get red-hot.

As Calypso swerved for another punch, Percy's calloused hands caught her own. Leo and Reyna remained frozen, watching this back-and-forth tennis match. "Well, Perseus Jackson, there should be something wrong with you," growled Calypso. "Whoa, there's no need to get hasty here!" exclaimed Percy, obviously struggling to get out of Calypso's reach. "Well, for starters, YOU LEFT ME ON A FREAKING ISLAND!" screamed Calypso, backhand-slapping Percy on his other cheek. "Sure, Leo is my love here, but still!" "Yes! I am the best-," started Leo. Calypso and Percy both glared at him, "SHUT UP!" The son of Hephaestus shrank back onto the floor, terrified of their banter. Even Reyna looked frightened, which was really, really new. "Hey, I just assumed!" shouted Percy, starting to look really mad. "The gods promised!" "Yeah well, YOU DIDN'T FOLLOW UP ON THE CHECKUP!" boomed Calypso, reaching for a metal rod.

_Calypso's heart broke as she saw the raft leave on the horizon. It was always the same every time, hero after hero leaving her, in pursuit for something else. The green-eyed boy was among the kindest of them so far, forcing her to sob. She cursed this island, and cursed the gods. Forever to be her prison, and the source of her heartbreak, Calypso felt despair. Even her father wouldn't condone this punishment for her, the gods were cruel indeed. Eternity on a endless island, just because she supported the Titans in the war. Wasn't there a second chance? Parole? The Olympians must be bitterly cruel like this, leaving her to rot, alone. Percy Jackson was now drifting on the horizon, back to his home, back to that girl... Oh, there was always a girl, Calypso knew. Blast these rotten gods, BLAST THEM TO TARTARUS! CURSE THIS ETERNITY!_

Calypso was shocked that she had a flashback that fast. In the moment of uncertainty, Percy saw an opportunity and pinned her to the ground. Calypso gave a grunt of pain as she slammed into the concrete floor, her legs being pinned down by Percy's own. "CALYPSO, I'M SORRY, CALM DOWN!" vented Percy, struggling for breath. Calypso grunted in anger, and collapsed. Percy rolled over, allowing her to get up. Leo and Reyna were still in place, paralyzed from fear. Calypso really couldn't blame them that much, she didn't vent out in rage like this often. No, she couldn't dwell on the past, it was too much. She had Leo now, the funny and charismatic son of Hephaestus. Calypso swore, at that moment, she would move on. "I'm sorry," grumbled Calypso. "I was, er, thinking too much. Are you okay?" Percy nodded, "I've been through worse, I guess. And uh, I'm kind of sorry, I guess I didn't see things your way much..."

"Um, friends?" asked Calypso. "Friends," agreed Percy, reaching out for an awkward hug. Calypso obliged, smelling Percy's sea scent. In her heart, Calypso knew she had to get over it. No use living in sorrow and heartbreak, it's time to move to the future. In a way, Calypso was happy that this fight occurred, at least she got it out of her system. "Uh, uh," gasped Reyna, at a loss for words. "Well, that was in-te-rest-ing," pronounced Leo, jumping up and brushing his suspenders. "I suppose you're okay-ish now?" Breaking apart, Calypso nodded. "Actually, I do have an idea!" "What idea?" asked Percy, looking confused. "Y'know that gem-thingy that Mother Rhea forked over?" The three people surrounding Calypso nodded. "There's this Titan magic thingy I know, it's sort of able to mask out a signature." "What do you mean?" asked Leo, scrunching his head. "Basically, what it does is discern the nature of a being."

"Okay, I'm lost here," started Leo, gesturing to himself. Calypso sighed, it was SO hard trying to explain ancient magic to people who've only lived for a decade or two. "Powerful beings leave trails, okay? This spell sort of tells us what kind of trail it is. It's not going to really tell us what it is, but more like a general overview," emphasized Calypso, taking it as slowly as she could. "I sort of understand," said Reyna, stroking her hair-braid. "Wait," began Percy, "Where's the gem thingy?" Calypso stared at him with a ticked-off glare, "You mean to tell me you have no idea where the gem is?!" "Well, we were kind of busy figuring out stuff and forgot about it...," drawled Percy. Calypso rubbed her head with an irritated growl, and proceeded to think about Plan B. "You're going to find out what happened to that thing, and tell me at once," stated Calypso. Percy nodded, and bolted out of the door.

"I best mobilize the Legion for the search," boomed Reyna, also chasing Percy out of the door. "Well, it's just you and me again," smiled Leo, extending an arm around Calypso's shoulders. Calypso hid a smile, at least something good came out of this. But unfortunately, her visit to her father was going to have to happen slightly earlier than planned. Calypso jerked a nod to the piece of bronze on the floor, "Leo, you may want to reattach that to Festus, we have some work to do." Leo sighed, and blew a whistle around his neck. The ground shook as a bronze dragon appeared on the horizon outside of the door. "This is going to be an interesting trip," muttered Leo, hefting up the bronze piece and walking out of the door. Calypso turned back into the room, with a heavy thought on her mind. _"We're coming_ _for you Daddy, and it ain't going to be nice,"_ she thought.

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	17. XVII: Jason

***Dramatic hiss of smoke...* BOOOM! *Jumps from airplane, spinning a four-point star manuever before twisting around and doing a somersault on the ground, as a volcano of epicness explodes behind* **

**Heyo guys! I AM BACK! After a really, really long hiatus, I have returned to the world of fanfiction. It has been many months, and I am returning to this story. I was SO burnt out of writing for about a month after I wrote the last chapter, then life got busy. Needless to say, I am back and rocking. I will be writing chapters again, and I will do my best to write at a normal pace. I won't be answering reviews this chapter since I have not been on fanfiction for a long time. Reviews will be appreciated and the most recent ones will be answered next chapter :D. **

**Also, bear patience with me on this chapter. It's been a long time since I was on fanfiction, writing this chapter. I call upon you guys to criticize this chapter and tell me if I've been writing as I normally do. I'm not sure if this chapter is off my usual style, so it's up to you guys to tell me. Be patient as I readjust back to writing again and delivering hopefully awesome content :D.**

***Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor the Heroes of Olympus, thanks to Rick "Troll" Riordian***

**As usual..., without further ado..., enjoy!**

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**XVII: Jason**

**Having tea with an all-powerful immortal made Jason nervous.** Holy Hades, he couldn't really believe that he was sitting down with his grandmother, the all-powerful mother of Zeus. To Jason's right, Hazel and Lou Ellen looked just as nervous. The table in front of Jason was crafted out of wooden oak, and had a chock-full of snacks piled up on top. The chair that Jason was sitting on was comfortable enough, with a yellow cushion plopped upon the seating. The Shrine of Souls thingy surrounded Jason like a creepy tomb. It certainly didn't help that Mother Rhea insisted on having a tea party there. Piper looked oddly happy for some reason, chatting away with Rhea at the head of the ten-foot long table. The scene reminded Jason vaguely of _Alice in Wonderland_, minus a cackling Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. Okay, Jason did see the play once, don't sue!

What Piper and Rhea were talking about, Jason didn't know. Actually, he would prefer not to know; it would most likely save him some pain in the long run. Hazel sipped away silently on her tea, while munching on a sugar cookie. Jason felt slightly uncomfortable, especially since he wasn't in his natural element. Okay, maybe outside would do, at least it was better than being stuck in some place underground. Awkward silence descended on Jason like a storm cloud, considering the only blabbing coming out was from Mother Rhea's mouth. Jason honestly had no idea why Zeus' mother was here. He really doubted she was here to 'check' him out. Needless to say, his Iris-Message to New Athens an hour ago had been awkward, to say the least. Poseidon randomly back-flipping out there sort of creeped out Jason to some extent. Percy yelling "TEN POINTS!" didn't help matters either.

"So Jason," smiled Rhea, turning to him, "How's life?" "Uh, okay I guess," stammered Jason, gripping his plate. Two chocolate cupcakes were stacked on his china plate, begging to be eaten. "Jason dear," began Rhea, "I'm not here to interrogate you, honestly I'm not." The circumstance of Rhea's visit sort of confused Jason. First, he barely made it out of that pitfall of doom, no thanks to Lou Ellen's complaining. Sometimes, Jason swore that he could pass Lou Ellen off as Judge Judy. The daughter of Hecate didn't always have the best temper, thanks to the Stolls' pranks. For some reason, Conner Stoll was pranking her way more than usual. Barging into a golden-eyed goddess wasn't high on Jason's list either, making him sprawl to the ground. He honestly had no idea what Piper said to Rhea while he, Lou Ellen, and Hazel were hopping across the Wipeout course of doom.

It was bad enough sending Piper hopping across a chasm of hopeful doom, and Jason didn't enjoy it either. He was perfectly ready to barge in the room all cool-like, and swoop in to save Piper. He was sure he heard Piper yelling at a figure, urging him to reach her faster. Instead, he had to land smack-dab in a gigantic room with his grandmother. The slight bump he got jostling down the stairs didn't help as well. Jason also had no idea why Lou Ellen and Hazel so conveniently happened to land on a dog-pile on top of him. Jason was sure everything bad happening to him on this quest was being done on purpose. Maybe the Fates were taking out their frustration on him or something? All that happened through Jason's mind when Rhea summoned a tea table with the clap of her hands. The last couple of hours were spent talking in awkward conversations, one in which Lou Ellen was uncomfortable with.

"I've heard about your little problem," frowned Rhea. "As a representative of the Fates, I would like to apologize to you for the inconvenience." "Wait, you've seen the Fates?" asked Hazel, setting down her teacup. "But aren't they locked away?" questioned Lou Ellen, swallowing a cannoli. "Ah, my dears, I've never spoken to them, I'm afraid," stated Rhea. "I merely assist in, how do you say..., law enforcement?" Great, Jason didn't know that Rhea decided to be a police enforcer for a group of grannies wielding nutso clubs. If they were able to rescue the Fates, Jason was more concerned on his sanity, considering he saw them beat a giant to death with their brass clubs. "Enforcing laws? What do you mean?" said a confused Lou Ellen, scrunching her face. "Alas, there's not much to do these days, with my sons ruling Olympus and all," sighed Rhea, "Life does get to be a tad slightly boring..."

Jason felt inclined to agree, considering being immortal can get boring at times. Well, he really didn't have a first-hand experience with that, but the cackling craziness of most immortals sort of clued that in. "So, my dears," started Rhea, nibbling away at a brownie, "It is imperative that you rescue the ladies at once, heavens know what they'll do with their loom!" "The loom of the Fates?" asked Piper, finally turning her attention away from whatever the Hades she was doing. "I've heard of the Fates' loom," nodded Lou Ellen, "It has the very ties of Western Civilization itself attached to it." Rhea bowed her head in agreement, "Anything that controls the loom can control, well, pretty much everything." Jason did a double-take at that, that was some pretty serious power right there. He inwardly grimaced at the image of everyone dancing around like demented puppets.

"There's a reason the gem was transported to your friends in New Athens the way it was," stated Rhea. "Even myself, I wouldn't dare risk the form of detection, this enemy is powerful enough to smell its own essence." "Essence?" asked Piper, looking even more confused. Jason caught Piper's eyes, and got her silent message: "This woman is bat-crazy!" Hazel tapped her fingers on the table, getting everyone else's attention. "You mean part of a immortal soul, right?" "You're a clever girl Hazel," twinkled Rhea, "Correct you are!" Hazel chewed on her lip, out of sheer frustration. Jason adjusted his glasses, taking this in. He could relate to the frustration, nothing even made sense anymore in this wacky world of gods and immortals. On top of that, he conveniently happened to be alone on his side of the table, with the others so far away from him. Jason wished Piper could just shuffle a few chairs closer to him.

The voices snaked out of Jason's ears, thrumming like a bass drum. Jason had to admit the whole soul-whispering thing was creepy, not to mention the fact that they were underground. Sure, Rhea did say she monitored activities from here, but the place felt like a mausoleum to Jason. What was even weirder was the fact that Piper was totally comfortable with it. Well, she did go through a total apocalyptic inner-journey to find herself, so that was understandable. The end of the world would probably make them all have some zen or something. Except Lou Ellen maybe; she usually enjoyed smashing things. Jason felt so far off track right now; the important thing was hurrying up and grilling some information out of Eris or something. Sadly, he had no idea where she was anyway. In fact, Jason half-expected Eris to be the crazy woman he jumped. Great, so much for a heroic rescue. It ended up with a rebuttal from said crazy-woman-turned-to-be-Rhea.

"Jaaaasssson," sing-songed Lou Ellen, who was looking murderous, "Can we go now?" Next to Lou Ellen, Hazel was nodding vigorously, getting increasingly uncomfortable. Jason could detect the underlying threat in Lou's eyes, and he really didn't feel like becoming a shish-kebab today. Racking his head, Jason tried to think of a subtle way to let Rhea down easy. Quite honestly, he hoped to find a way that would spare him from becoming a burnt crisp on the floor. Or a balloon, depending on the mood of immortals these days. Fortunately, Piper beat him to the punch. "My lady," she quipped, "Thanks for, uh, the stuff?" Rhea smiled, opening her arms wide, "Of course my dear, no thanks are necessary!" "But I really think we should go and find Eris now," butted in Piper. Rhea's smiling face deflated, and she sank back into her chair. In all honesty, Jason never saw an immortal who was unhappy to be rid of them, that part was new.

"If you must," sighed Rhea. "I warn you, the task at hand is no easy task." In his mind, Jason could think of nothing but _duh!_ Of course it would be hard, fighting the goddess of discord and attempting the rescue of old ladies wasn't going to be easy. "Before you go, you must know something," murmured Rhea. Gee, there was _always _something that all-powerful immortals had to tell them before they left. At least they were helpful in that sense. Now, just slap a eight-hour workday, a jobless suit, and they would be your regular parents! Both Hazel and Lou Ellen bent in to listen, and Piper, who was silent this whole time, did so as well. "I may not know where the Fates are," said Rhea, "But Eris certainly does, you can find her in the General Jackson Showboat." "Uh what?" asked Piper, scrunching her forehead in confusion.

"I know this!" exclaimed Hazel. Jason turned towards the daughter of Pluto, with a questionable look on his face. "You know, showboats, kinda old...," began Hazel, "I studied some of them last summer, at least." "Uh, isn't that unorthodox?" asked Lou Ellen. Jason felt the need to shrink away; studying old showboats weren't exactly his forte. Hazel shrugged, "The General Jackson Showboat was apparently named after some old Civil War general or something." "Ah yes, son of Athena," butted in Rhea. "If you ask me, he was a bit too blunt for my taste.." At that moment, Jason did a mental facepalm to himself. Usually when one of _these people_ opened their mouths, they tended to go on and on and on. "As much as that sounds nice," began Piper, "I think we really should get going now..., but thanks for the tea, I guess..." Jason did a silent cheer, and mentally reminded to thank his fiancee later.

Well, nothing like doomsday to get out of an awkward conversation! Jason groaned as he clambered out of his cushy and comfortable chair. Great, the one time life gives you lemons, you're not able to make lemonade... At least he wouldn't have to hear any more of Lou Ellen's complaining about getting stuck in underground tea-parties. "It saddens me to see you all go," sighed Rhea, as Piper walked over to Jason. Jason felt his cheeks flare up as Piper grabbed a hold of his right hand. "Ready to catch a sadistic goddess, Sparky?" she smiled. Lou Ellen made a gagging motion with her mouth, and Hazel just smiled. "Remember, I will always be with you!" exclaimed Rhea. Jason felt kind of creeped out, considering that a stalkerish immortal would be watching them. "You mean you're coming with us?" asked Lou Ellen, wiping some dust off of Diancer. "No, my dears, I will be in your hearts," smiled Rhea, touching Jason's chest.

Well, great, a cliche I-will-be-in-your-heart thing! Jason wondered what else this rapidly-becoming-weird quest would throw at them. If they were lucky, probably some avocados. Most likely death, though. "If my memory serves right, that showboat should be in a river or something," said Rhea. Lou Ellen's eyes bulged, "But there's like a bunch of rivers around here!" "Eh, it's somewhere," shrugged Rhea. Lou Ellen made a gurgling sound with her throat, and was barely restrained by Hazel. The look Hazel gave Jason was obvious enough: _we need to leave, now._ Piper seemed to pick up this cue as well, tugging Jason to the side. Jason wished they could be in better circumstances than this, really. Nothing like a chaperone to ruin his day.., geez. He didn't know what was worse, facing down Porphyrion, or a goddess versus a puny-yet-ticked-off-mortal showdown.

As Piper was about to speak, a sudden_ poof_ ringed around the room. Alarmed, Jason swung out his gladius, and the others their respective weapons. A shimmering image formed in mid-air, and the face of Percy Jackson appeared. "Percy?" asked Hazel, who seemed alarmed. Jason visibly relaxed, and hung down his weapon. "Uh, hey guys!" chuckled Percy, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, anything we can do for you Perce?" questioned Jason. Admittedly, it was sort of weird that Percy would jump in like this... What Jason couldn't explain was the distinct screaming he heard in the background. "Percy, question, what's going on back there?" growled Lou Ellen. Percy chuckled sheepishly, "Well, it's kind of a long story..." "I too, would also like to hear the source of this apparent mass panic!" butted in Rhea, looking somewhat cheerful. Jason locked eyes with Piper, and the communication was clear. _Just what was going on?_

"I'm going to go on a limb here, and guess that something bad happened..." ventured Hazel. "Uh, well, it's kinda complicated..." stuttered Percy. Jason shrugged, "We got all day man." Though Jason swore he heard the voice of Calypso barking orders in the background... "Is that Calypso I hear?" asked Piper. Percy nodded, "She's been on a fanatical rampage all day, Hades.., she's even scaring me!" "Dude, it's not like that she's your girlfriend or something..." groaned Jason. "Perce..." sighed Piper, burying her face in her hands. "What?" asked Percy, "Do you really expect me standing up to a she-devil like that?" Next to Jason, Rhea narrowed her eyes. "May I ask why this Titaness is acting..., as how you mortals put it..., cuckoo?" "Well, she seemed really agitated over the disappearance of that gem-thingy or something..." moaned Percy. "I don't know why it's such a big deal either..."

Jason widened his eyes, that stupid gem was the cause of all that mass panic? Yet again, there was a pretty good reason for that. All of a sudden, Rhea started cackling like a demonic witch. Widening their eyes, Hazel and Lou Ellen backed away from her. Jason felt the tension, as if it could be cut right through like a stick of butter. "You mean to tell me...," chuckled Rhea, "That you boneheaded demigods lost _THE gem?!" _"Uh, yeah, but I don't know why," began Percy. "STUPID SCHISTS! YOU WORTHLESS PIECES OF GRACEUS SCUM!" bellowed Rhea. "Hey!" exclaimed Percy, "I'm sure that we can work this thing-," as he was interrupted. "That gem was supposed to reveal who the enemy was!" yelled Rhea, who was definitely smoking now. Alarmed, Jason tugged Piper away from the glowing goddess. Okay, this was getting scary now. "No wonder Calypso is under a panic," growled Rhea, "She's probably the only other one who knows..."

"Uh, know what?" asked Percy. Rhea glowered at Percy with a withering glare, and he cringed. Jason felt sympathy for the guy, considering that it didn't happen every day. Well, that, and Annabeth. "Cover!" exclaimed Hazel as Rhea started glowing a bright shade of yellow. Oh, no way. Jason wasn't going to go through seeing an totally-godly form and dying from it again. With a grunt, Jason covered Piper as the others shielded their eyes. Rhea exploded in a supernova as her godly form materialized out of existence. Opening his eyes, Jason saw a charcoal circle where the goddess stood. "I'm so dead...," groaned Percy, as he uncovered his eyes. "I think you got, like, ten seconds to run and hide or something..," smirked Lou Ellen. Percy paled, "Gotta go! Bye!" The Iris Message dissipated out of view of Jason's eyes. Geez, Percy was SO going to get it now...

Piper blinked, "Does this mean we gotta walk to the showboat now...?" Jason stifled a groan. Where was the showboat thingie anyway? Rhea mentioned a river of sorts before she blew up in a super-awesome explosion. "Basically, yes, a walk of doom to a showboat," said Jason. "To sum this up, we're walking all the way back upstairs?" steamed Lou Ellen. "Well, it can't be bad as what's going back at camp...," jutted in Hazel. Great, one gem turns the entire camp into a bloodthirsty frenzy... "Well, walking is good for your health?" suggested Piper. "Eh, I'll take it," shrugged Jason. Being a demigod was good for your health anyway. Well, besides getting decapitated, disemboweled, poisoned, stabbed, murdered, punched, and a few other things. "Great, so, we're supposed to walk up to a heavily-guarded boat that's probably filled with monsters, traps, and goddesses?" drawled Lou. "Yup!" chirped Hazel. Jason sighed, they were SO deep in this now. "Steamboat ho, we go!" he shouted.

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**Hope you liked! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**


	18. XVIII: Jason

**Heyyy my friends! Here's another nice chapter up for you! I guess I'll get right to the reviews.**

**Lovedystopia: I'm glad to be back too! Also, this chapter may be confusing to you if you didn't reference to some previous chapters. Remember how I said some chapters were going to be tied in with previous ones? Well, it was one of these times. I suggest you go back and read the last couple of chapters to understand some of the crisis going on with Rhea. After all, some of the things are intentionally confusing as well...**

**Court: Indeed, it is good to be back! Thanks, and I'm looking forward to your next review!**

**Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time on this chapter. It's full of action! Again, I'm sort of dusting off these old writing bones of mine, so excuse me if you don't see my style back up to flair ;P. So just let me know if anything seems troubling or not seamlessly going from paragraph to paragraph. I also switched my style a bit to shorter paragraphs, because I felt previous ones were too blocky. Let me know how you like this format please.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "Troller of the Ancients" Riordian. **

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

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**XVIII: Jason**

**Jason didn't appreciate being run over by a truck.** Well, not really. It wasn't more of a run over, per se. More like an angry rant from the truck driver for apparently getting "too close" to his precious seventeen-wheeler. Wandering in downtown Nashville was providing tedious, and the fact that Lou Ellen punched the driver in the face didn't help matters much either. It only had been thirty minutes since Jason and the others had left the creepy Shrine of Souls thingie, and things had taken a turn for the worse.

Wandering in Nashville trying to find the riverboat didn't produce ample results, just mostly swearing from civilians. Geez, for the capital of country music, all these people had a potty mouth on them... "UGH, have we found it yet?" groaned Lou Ellen. "Do we even look like we're near a river?" moaned Piper. Hazel wrestled with the map she had, and twirled it around. "It looks like the steamboat is over in this direction," she muttered, pointing northeast. Jason hoped it wasn't much longer, he was really starting to get thirsty.

The last thirty minutes had its up and downs. The bright side was that Jason was able to get a chocolate ice-cream with sprinkles at a nice little shop. The downside was climbing out of that cave..., again. Granted, it only took ten minutes. But add a monster attack right after Jason and the others emerged from that nice little hole..., so yeah. At least strolling through downtown Nashville was decent, considering the last time they went through it was on the back of a cuss-swearing horse.

Said cuss-swearing horse was now nowhere to be found, despite Hazel's calling. Even Piper's handholding wasn't helping much on this swelter of a day, but it was still nice. Jason was looking forward to some _alone_ time with her after this whole debacle was over. Maybe some champagne, a nice blanket under the stars..., yeah... Believe it or not, Jason felt that he could hold his liquor pretty well.

"We better keep an eye out; monsters are probably guarding that boat...," suggested Piper. "Hm, or the boat could be a monster...," murmured Lou Ellen. At that moment, Jason paused. Slowly, everyone looked at each other, and started chuckling. The fact that a boat could be a monster was totally stupid..., hopefully. "Ugh, feels like we're a bunch of tourists..," grunted Lou Ellen. "Technically, a tourist applies to-," began Hazel as Lou cut her off. "I'm not in the mood," she growled.

Geez, Jason couldn't get over the stinginess of Lou Ellen, especially as of late. Just when they leave for the quest, she starts getting moody all of a sudden. Jason raised an eyebrow as he noticed Piper smiling at him. All warm and goo-melting, and..., wait. Jason knew the look of these eyes. Piper knew something he didn't. This was SO going to come back to haunt him later...

Granted, the skyscrapers of downtown Nashville were mesmerizing. But it was nothing compared to Olympus, for sure. Jason could smell the wafting breeze of vendors across the street they were currently traversing on. Wow, this felt totally normal. Four demigods on a stroll through a super-busy downtown city with no monsters attacking them... Jason mentally reminded himself to give a 10/10 on _Demigod Weekly_ about this place.

Yup, _Demigod Weekly_..., the hottest new magazine to run rampant in both New Athens and New Rome. Personally, it could do without all these Aphrodite product ads clamming up half the advertised section... Jason's thoughts were interrupted by a scratching sound near a storefront fifteen feet to the left of him. The said store in question appeared to be a flower shop.. "What is that...?" questioned Piper, slowing to a halt. At first glance, Jason thought it was _so_ cute. The said scratching belonged to some sort of pug doggy...

"Awwwww," cooed Hazel, leaning closer to the pug. The pug turned around, and looked up at Hazel with its adorable eyes. "What's a wittle wuggy like you doing in the mean, mean streets?" baby-talked Lou Ellen. The pug whined, and sat down on its hind legs. "Looks trained too...," murmured Piper, unfazed by the cuteness of the dog. Leaning closer, Jason noticed the color of the pug's eyes. Immediately, warning bells set off in his head. The eyes appeared to be a solid gold color...

"_Schist,_" thought Jason as the pug growled, and began metamorphing. Piper's eyes widened, "What is thaaat?" "Holy...," began Lou Ellen. By now, the fake pug appeared to be a ten-foot tall, two-legged, scaly creature. Claws protruded from it's hands, which oddly enough, was human. The face looked like a T-Rex out of Jurassic Park, and the feet looked like it had taken a dip in Toxic-Waste-Is-Bad-For-You-Land.

"Uh, nice doggy?" stammered Piper, taking a step back. Instinctively, Jason put an arm around her. Lou Ellen and Hazel drew their respective weapons out of their sheaths. "GRAHHHHHHHHH!" roared the hybrid thingie, blowing a gust of hot air in Jason's direction. The first thing Jason mentally thought was this: "_Geez, this guy NEEDS a breath mint!_" Mortals on either side of the sidewalks started screaming in terror, running in all directions.

Jason didn't know what they were seeing in the Mist, but it probably wasn't good. "Scatter!" yelled Lou Ellen as the monster spat poison acid in Jason's direction. Jason barely had time to duck before the window behind him dissolved into a gooey paste. Right then, the monster swung one of it's claw-like fists down in the pavement. Summoning the wind, Jason shot up in the air just as he heard the unmistakable _crack_ of the pavement.

Below him, Jason could see his friends and his, er, fiancee diving for cover. This guy needed a pedicure too, and a mani.., and, well, just about _everything_ in the works. Great, just when Jason was about to declare this place monster-free, this guy appears. "Jason!" yelled Hazel from below. Gazing down, Jason saw Hazel gesture toward a nearby parking garage. "I might have a plan!" she shouted. "Ugh, just do anything! Anything works!" shouted Jason, forming a lightning bolt in his hand.

The buzz of static electricity was in the air as the bolt extended into a five-foot long rod of pure luminosity. "Lou! Come over here!" shouted Hazel, beckoning to the garage. "You're crazy, but whatever!" screamed Lou Ellen, brandishing Diancer. Looking to his right, Jason saw Piper do a somersault, as a claw smashed in the ground, barely two feet from her. "_Holy Jupiter, these mortals NEED to get out of there!"_ thought Jason as he noticed people still running over the place, with terror-stricken faces.

"Jason, give me three minutes!" said Hazel. "Done," murmured Jason as he threw the bolt with all his might, shoving it down the maw of that ugly beast. Just then, Jason noticed Piper picking up a broken parking meter and throwing it. At that moment, the lightning and metal struck the beast together. "BANGG!" A huge explosion resonated for blocks as the Beast-look-alike was consumed in flames.

When the flames cleared, the monster was still standing upright. "Ugh, some things just WON'T die," muttered Piper as she unsheathed Razorback in her right hand, and Katoptris in the other. Sweet Hera, Piper was SO hot when she fought like that... Jason's thoughts were broken when the monster roared an ear-shattering sonic voice. Just then, Jason decided to name it Fernando, after the bull. At least both kinds of Fernandos refused to just die...

Said Fernando blasted another gust of acid in Jason's direction. Twisting in the air, Jason pushed a gust of wind into the path of the acid. A _crackle_ fizzed through the air as the acid dissolved upon the wind's onslaught. "Hey, ugly, over here!" exclaimed Piper, charging with a battle cry. With a grunt, Fernando kicked his right foot upward. Diving down, Piper jabbed Razorback into Fernando's foot. With a groan, Jason covered his ears yet again, just as Fernando yelled a shrill cry.

Further ahead, Jason could see Hazel and Lou rigging something in the first floor of the parking garage. With a moan, Fernando started lumbering toward the direction of the garage. With a grunt, Jason started compressing a ball of lightning in his right hand. It was no more than a foot wide, and was packed with destruction. Putting all his power forward, Jason threw the ball at the back of Fernando's head.

A muffled explosion resonated throughout the block as Fernando roared. "_Zeus' Underpants...,"_ thought Jason, as Fernando turned back in his direction. The poor monster was starting to look confused, going back and forth between all these demigods. Huh, it did look like it was better in WAY more numbers... With a cry, Piper threw Katoptris straight in Fernando's left eye. "Bullseye, Pipes!" exclaimed Jason, as Fernando thrashed back and forth.

"Get him over here!" yelled Hazel as she and Lou Ellen sprinted out of the parking garage. Right then, Jason heard the sound of police car sirens. Aw come on! Now the cops get involved... Geez, Jason swore that if the police pulled a taser on him, he would zap them right back. It's not like the taser would affect him anyway... Shaking off the sound, Jason saw Piper luring Fernando near the garage. The monster was getting angrier and angrier, spewing out steam and acid. Well, this was going to be a wild ride...

With a grunting effort, Jason propelled the wind to push him back on the ground. Rolling to the side, he pulled out his gladius, slowly sneaking behind Fernando. Ugh, this thing didn't resemble a bull at all... Coming into focus of the garage, Jason could see that a trapwire set was rigged behind the entrance. It probably had, as he quoted it, "boom boom" stuff stocked inside. "Uh, Jason, we have company..," started Hazel, who had retreated back to a nearby sidewalk. Taking a glance at Piper, Jason then turned his attention to a squadron of police cars cruising up the street.

The cars were white chargers, with your classic red and blue sirens adorning the top rack. Thirty feet from Jason, the cars skidded to a halt. Half a dozen police officers jumped out of their cars and formed a firing defense line. "Drop the weapons!" shouted one of the cops. Just great, mortals just HAD to get involved. The weird thing was, the cops were looking pale, and their hands were unsteady. The Mist couldn't make something that scary.., could it?

"Cover!" shouted Piper, as she appeared out of nowhere and dived for the nearest safe barrier. "BOOOM!" A rocking explosion ripped through Jason's ears as the parking garage blew up in hundreds of feet of golden fire. "Holy Hecate...," muttered Lou Ellen, who was also safe under cover. The cops all dived toward the ground as tremors ripped across the street. Jason collapsed to the ground, praying for dear life. This was when the skies could be really, really handy right now...

"Well, that worked," coughed Lou, struggling to her feet. "Nice work Hazel!" exclaimed Piper, also getting to her feet. "Well, I had a few things handy, might as well have used it," muttered Hazel. Struggling to his feet, Jason saw that Fernando was now totally gone for sure. A shame, he was starting to get attached to that monster. Well, not really, but still. The damage from the explosion appeared to radiate for about three city blocks.

"How did that thing even know we were there in the first place?" said Lou, "It's not exactly the usual monsters that we see..." "No chiz Lou, nothing's been normal for the last bloody week!" shouted Piper. Jason had to nod his head in agreement there. "Well, what are we going to do about the cops?" asked Jason, gesturing to the officers now laying passed out on the concrete. They must have hit their heads too hard or something...

The wail of even more sirens echoed across the horizon. "Well, we're screwed," stated Lou Ellen. Gazing around, Jason noticed some back alleys nearby. "Well, we could stay out of sight there," suggested Jason, pointing to said alley. "Better than getting arrested by the cops..., again...," muttered Piper, grabbing Jason's hand. "Hazel, come on!" gestured Jason, obviously wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. "Ugh, coming, just gimme a sec," said Hazel, shuffling some stuff through her bag.

Geez, women and their deadly-monster-killing-weapon-stuff that they have to organize in bags... Jason and the others ducked into the back alleys not a moment too soon. Three full squadrons of police cars pulled up to the now non-existent parking garage, as well as five fire trucks. "Lou, don't you have some of that vial thing we can use?" whispered Hazel. "What vial?" asked Piper, doing a double-take. "It's that thing that can listen in conversations," grumbled Jason, being reminded of the unpleasant experience when he discovered that.

Jason mentally flashbacked when some idiot decided to use it to spy on his alone time with Piper. Needless to say, he beat the living Hades out of the perpetrator, or as commonly known, Travis Stoll... Normally, Jason wouldn't have felt like doing that, but, erm, the time was _special,_ so to speak. Jumbling around, Lou Ellen pulled out a vial-looking bottle, and rolled it out on the street. With awe, Jason saw the vial fizz into a static that mortals couldn't see.

In the middle of the emergency group, there was a detective taking complaints. "Sir, it looks like there were signs of arson..," stuttered one of the newly arrived police officers. Leaning closer in the soundwave, Jason and the others listened carefully. "I-I say otherwise, sir..," groaned one of the newly-conscious officer. Even from afar, Jason could recognize him as one of the ones that got knocked out by the explosion. "There was a bloody monster or something.., with the most horrible claws!" shouted the officer, looking pale.

"How did he see it?" gasped Lou Ellen, "The Mist should have covered up something on this scale..." "At this point, it looks like the Mist isn't going to help us much..," groaned Hazel. Jason had to admit that something was peculiarly off about the Mist these days. Sometimes it was working, sometimes it wasn't. The odd thing was its irregularity with the mortals, though. "Someone take him to the psych ward..," groaned the detective. "No sir! I swear!" stammered the dazed officer, as he was dragged away by two paramedics.

"This quest just keeps getting weirder and weirder," said Piper. "No chiz, Sherlock," blurted Lou Ellen. "Shouldn't we be getting back to our search for Eris?" asked Hazel, interrupting the heated conversation. "Let's just keep ducking this way to the showboat," ordered Jason, considering that he didn't want to run into any more nasty surprises like this. "Anyway, the problem is getting Eris to speak!" muttered Lou. "It's not like we can torture her or anything..."

"Hmm, I think I may have an idea," said Hazel, "It's going to require the help of another friendly god though..." "Ah, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Lou Ellen, with a smug grin on her face. "Well, ladies, if you could mind telling me?" inquired Jason. Geez, those girly looks of knowledge scared him sometimes. "You'll see soon enough," stated Hazel. Well, just great. Another mysterious thing that Jason didn't know about. "We're gonna need some fire, and a heck of a wrench...," rambled Lou. Jason really didn't want to ask what the fire was going to be for.

"We're burning daylight, let's move!" ordered Piper. Jason mentally groaned, now for some more walking, walking and more walking. "Lou, can you remove the vial now?" stated Hazel. With a flick of her fingers, Lou seemingly fizzed the vial out of existence. How she could do that from a distance, Jason didn't know. "After you, Romeo," said Lou, gesturing Jason deeper into the alley. At least they were going to get away from crazy detectives and crying mortals...

Trudging ahead, Jason lead his friends deeper in the doomful alley. The clip-clop of boots could be heard from all around for blocks. Apparently, there must be ALOT of mortals at the scene of the accident..., or in demigod-speak, a blowy-uppy-palooza. Or, in monster-speak, a toasted grill. "THUMTHUM!" A stampede of boots started following the direction of Jason. "What is that?" whispered Piper, starting to panic. "Letmme bash em on the head," growled Lou, taking out Diancer yet again. Jason could distinctly hear some words about something related to SWAT.. SWAT wha?

"Seriously, it better not be any more cops, this is starting to get really, really old," growled Hazel, leading the rear of the column. Jason really didn't want to get arrested either, it would be a bummer. Not to mention the cops would think that they were mentally insane. Up ahead, the exit of the alley emptied into a ten foot wide and long cornerstone intersection. It lead into more..., you guessed it, alleys.

Right then, two teams of a half dozen men dressed in SWAT gear burst across two of the other exits. "Hands up! This is SWAT!" boomed one of the men. Jason's first thought was this: "We're so SCREWED" "We've found some suspects, sir!" said a SWAT member to a radio channel feed. Right then, Lou Ellen threw Diancer at the head of one of the SWAT members. A cold bang resonated cross the floor as he got knocked out cold. Jason sprung into action, summoning a wind that swept one of the teams off their feet.

Just as he was about to turn to the other team, Jason felt a dart strike his left shoulder. With a grunt, he knocked the shooter off his feet. Pulling out the dart, Jason noticed the others conked out on the floor. Just then, Jason's thoughts started getting woozy. He barely had time to think _"Oh Schist,"_ before engulfing into darkness.

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**You like? Review and comment! See you next chapter!**


	19. XIX: Jason

**Heyyyyy my flyers! You all are probably shocked that I posted another chapter within twenty-four hours... Well, I will say that a plot bunny bit me HARD for this chapter. The fact that Jason was in jail provided SUCHHHHH an interesting topic to write about. Needless to say, I spent the last six hours mass-writing on a binge, with nothing but tea pulling me through. This chapter was one of the more funner ones to write, and I know it's not a word, just let me be stupid for once :P. **

**Lovedystopia: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter, letmme know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus belongs to Dictator Rick Riordian of the State of Totalitarian PJO fans. **

**This was fun to write, enjoy!**

**P.S: IT IS OKAY IF YOU GET CONFUSED AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! It was intended to be sort of intentional, since the questions and the sorting-out of what happened while they were in captivity will be explained during the next chapter, just be patient! **

**So without further ado...**

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**XIX: Jason**

**Being on television was not good news for Jason.** Neither was being locked up in Nashville's local jail. And for your information, orange was NOT the new black. Now Jason was sitting in his detainment cell, sulking. Most of all, he wondered where the others were. "_Oh Gods," _he thought. Just earlier in the day, he was shown a live television feed in the interrogation room about the parking lot being blown up. Worst of all was the fact that he and the others were included in the feed. Now the cops were demanding answers that Jason really felt uncomfortable giving out.

Jason mentally berated himself for getting arrested in the first place. It wasn't his fault for getting tranquilized, but apparently the gods felt like laughing at him. Honestly, being locked up here for the last two days so far was taking its toll. Jason had no idea what Piper and the others were going through, considering that they were in separate wings. At least Piper had experience with the cops, considering she used to do "illegal" activities. As far as Jason knew, all the weapons had been stripped off of him, as well as any other avenue of escape.

Fair enough, he could try and use his powers to bust out of here. However, Jason really didn't feel like harming all these mortals and blowing up a jail. Well, he wouldn't mind blowing up a jail, just the mortals mattered. Shaking off his thoughts, Jason glanced around his cell. The ceilings and walls were pure white, and the floor was gray. The room couldn't have been bigger than ten feet by ten feet. There was nothing but a toilet, a sink, and the small cot he was currently sitting on. Even if Jason could escape, he was pretty sure that "measures" were in place, due to the armed guard outside his cell.

Jason never imagined that his life would end up like this, in prison. He thought he would get married to Pipes, settle down, maybe have a few kids... But hooray, apparently a fugitive outlaw was now something worth commentating on. What was worse was the fact that having ADHD in a confined space was considered torture. But apparently, the cops thought that a "confirmed suspect" needed to be detained further. Countless hours of GTA V was SO not going to help here...

A loud bang resonated in Jason's ears as the door to his cell opened. The man that came through at that moment really irritated Jason. It was Detective Hubero, his apparent "criminal" case-worker. The detective was six foot tall, black, and had a portly build. "You're up Grace!" he growled. "Same drill, sarge?" sighed Jason. "Yup, now get 'em hands behind!" boomed the detective. Jason inwardly groaned as his hands were shackled with handcuffs behind his back. Jason prayed to his father: "_Please dad, I'll do anything to get out of this, ANYTHING!"_

The problem in here would probably be Lou Ellen though... Jason had no doubt that she was putting up a heck of a fight. Just hours earlier, he could have sworn that he heard her curses resonating off the walls and the sounds of struggle. Lou wasn't one to be subtle, especially with the police. Jason wondered if Piper was trying to charmspeak her way out of this mess. It was pretty much the only thing she had, considering that Razorback was taken away, and Katoptris was nowhere to be seen after that big boom-boom episode with Fernando.

Being escorted out of his cell by Hubero, Jason could see two long hallways on either side of his cell door. They were both the same, with bland gray colors and strips of high-wattage lights. As Jason trotted down the hallway, with Hubero and the armed guard closely behind him, he could recognize where they were going. It was the same as always, the interrogation room. Apparently, the cops decided to play nice in the first interrogation yesterday. Obviously, Jason didn't fall for that. He wondered what the approach today was going to be.

About twenty feet further down to the right, Hubero guided Jason into the same old, usual room. Inside, there was a five foot long table, with two additional detectives standing side by side. The room was no more than thirty feet across and wide. The detectives had smug looks on their faces, as if they knew something that Jason didn't. Jason had to laugh internally, these mortals really did know nothing. They would probably pee their pants if Zeus popped out of nowhere. Huh, not a bad idea...

With a harsh push, Hubero shoved Jason into a chair in front of the table. A signal was given for the door to be shut, and so it was. Jason's dear detective-psuedo-caseworker then took up a position on the wall behind him. Silence registered in the room as the detectives sitting near the table observed Jason. Jason was feeling really uncomfortable with all this staring, it made him feel like a criminal. Well, technically, he shouldn't be one... Geez, hypocrites these days... Observing the detectives, Jason saw the one on the left as a lean, white man with a five-foot five-inch build. The other detective on the left was a woman, with auburn red hair, pale-white skin, and a five-foot two-inch build.

In all, these detectives were NOTHING near intimidating to Jason. At least, not compared to the other side of demigodish business. You could say that facing the Earth itself was a life-altering experience. Not to mention surviving constant brushes with death, monsters, and gods who were out for vengeful blood. "So, Mr. Grace," breathed the auburn-haired woman, leaning forwards. "You and your little perpetrator gang of arsonists were there at the scene, now, it would certainly be _helpful_ if you happened to tell us the fine, bitty little details of your so-called plan..."

"Well, well, besides saving half the city from doom, nothing MUCH!" spat Jason. "Please, as if!" butted in the male detective, "We have confirmation reports and feed from SWAT that evidently proves that your little group caused three blocks worth of damage...!" Ugh, mortal police were incredibly annoying. Especially since they kept poking their nose in demigod business. "Well, what can I say? I guess all of you are raving lunatics then...," suggested Jason.

Honestly, Jason tried that little tactic to see if it would unnerve these smug cops a bit. "If you're so insistent, I guess we can just transmit you to a mental asylum ward to have you checked?" smiled the auburn woman. Ugh, mother of Zeus, Jason really, really wanted to punch that woman right now. "While we're at it, we might as well check your case file," started the male detective. "Says here that you were abandoned at an early age, your mother died, and you're basically a homeless orphan..." Even after hearing all that again, Jason found that hard to swallow.

"You know nothing," he muttered. "Well, if you could enlighten us, maybe you'll get a lesser sentence," muttered Hubero from behind Jason. "Mr. Grace, you should look at this," said the auburn woman, whom's nametag appeared to say _Audrey._ Audrey then turned on a small television screen in the corner of the room. Garbled voices from various reporters reached Jason's ears. "Four perpetrators have been taken under police custody, and are being questioned as we speak," garbled one reporter. "Mass protests have erupted on the streets of Nashville in light of the recent arson bombings," said another.

"Mr. Grace, people are demanding justice due to your actions, we have proof of this," said Audrey. The male detective, who Jason noticed to have a nametag that said _Michael, _also spoke up. "Your accomplices have been questioned, and has been dealt with as such," he said. "Especially the pretty Cherokee one, she has quite the juvie record on her!" At that comment, Jason growled. This disgusting pig of a detective was comparing Piper to an object. "Is something bothering you, Mr. Grace?" said Audrey, smugly. She then turned off the television, and sat in utter silence.

Jason gritted his teeth. These dolts just made it personal. One key word with demigods, NEVER make anything _personal._ Jason was going to have to hatch a plan when he got back to his cell. Then he was going to hunt these thugs down and give them the beating of a lifetime. Okay, maybe that was a little TOO dramatic. But no one insults his fiancee and gets away with it! Jason decided to come clean, maybe it would "mentally bother" the brain-challenged detectives. "What you saw there," began Jason, "Was us trying to kill this Greek monster before it blew up the entire city!" At that statement, the detectives looked at each other and started laughing hard. "We really should get you in this hospital," began Audrey.

"This generated no results," said Micheal, "Just take him back to his cell already!" At that moment, Detective Hubero, who had been silent most of the time, groaned. "Let's go, Grace," he said. Jason rolled his eyes, and stood up. "We'll continue this discussion another day, Mr. Grace," muttered Audrey, looking exasperated. "_Or never,_" thought Jason, as he was escorted out of the room by Hubero. Walking back to his cell, Hubero spoke up. "You had some guts there, kid," he grumbled. Inwardly, Jason smiled. Guts was at least the minimum of what a demigod had to have...

Being thrown back in his cell, Jason heard the door close behind him. Just great, another few days of absolute torture of nothingness to do, while the ADHD just HAD to eat away at him. Jason's best guess was that someone else would be interrogated, probably Hazel, due to the rotation shift that he heard about. Ugh, poor Hazel. The poor girl was probably shaken up, considering the fact that she had never experienced modern-day prison or torture in the mortal world. Jason felt extreme pity for her, considering she was still used to several old-fashioned ways.

Pacing back and forth, Jason was starting to consider his options. One, he could try and break out of here and risk harming everyone, or just beg for help from whatever godly deity could be out there. Surely one could at least take pity on them, considering the fact that this quest was sort of super-important... Practically the fate of the entire western world rode on it! Then again, just another average day.

The muffled screams of a voice Jason could pin as Hazel bounced through his door. Slowly, his internal rage was building up. How _dare_ these mortals take his most beloved friends and hurt them one by one? Heck, they haven't even gotten close to reaching Eris yet, not being stuck like this. Jason didn't know much about the mortal jailing system, but he could have sworn that some of their methods were more on the unorthodox and disturbing side.

Releasing a sigh, Jason sat on his bunk. Laying his head on the cot, he closed his eyes. Jason felt that he might as well take a short nap to calm himself down. Ugh, why did everything have to be so complicated these days? Mortals were fighting back and forth on who saw what. A rap at his door jarred Jason from his ten-second sleep. A newer detective came through the door, one that Jason didn't recognize. "You have a visitor," said the black-haired man. Jason was incredibly confused. Who on earth, pardon, _Gaea_, visit him in jail?

Going out of his cell back and forth was becoming a chore for Jason. As usual, the ceremonial handcuffing, armored guard escort, and invasive pat-down occupied his time-frame. When all that was finally done, Jason was escorted even further down the right hallway, way past the interrogation room. Jason could hear voices emanating from the room, especially sounding distressed. Approaching the door to the recreation area, the black-haired detective opened it for Jason. "Thanks," grumbled Jason. Hey, demigods have manners too, don't judge!

Jason's jaw dropped as he recognized the figure sitting near one of the corner tables. At first glance, the recreation area was a solid hundred feet long and wide, with two floors of assorted gantry-ways and prisoners milling about. Various games, such as checkers and chess, decked several of the tables. The important thing was the figure, though, as Jason drifted closer. The black-haired detective stood watch at the door, cautiously. The figure in front of Jason had curly-brown hair, and an elfish grin. Sitting down, Jason bowed his head in respect. "Lord Hermes," he said, gesturing to said figure.

"Jason," coolly replied Hermes, "It looks like you got yourself in a, er, sticky situation..." Jason blinked; that was probably the understatement of the century. "So, I'm going to get to the point and assume that you're here to help us?" asked Jason. "Right you are," muttered Hermes, "Though your whole blowy-uppy debacle made the front news of Olympus TV..." Well, just great, more unwanted celebrity attention that Jason didn't feel like having.

"Your friends are worried," said Hermes, "The whole camp demanded your release at once, you know.., so here I am!" Jason mentally reminded himself to send his friends a thank-you card and some souvenirs. Geez, Jason felt like he was giving himself a lot of mental reminders recently. He hoped it wasn't because of his tendency to hit his head... Well, back on topic, anyway. "You do realize that you could have just snapped your fingers and gotten us out in an instant?" stated Jason, just now realizing it. "Um, well, I sort of wanted to make it more dramatic...," muttered Hermes.

"In what way?" groaned Jason, already feeling pretty sure that he was going to hate this. "Like this!" cheerfully exclaimed Hermes. He then waved the black-haired detective over. "Hey, sir, mind coming here for a moment?" asked Hermes, with a mischievous grin on his face. "Yes, Mr...,?" started the detective. Hermes then pointed to the detective's tie. "You have a lil something there, you know?" said Hermes, pointing to the tie. The detective then looked down, and at that moment, Hermes tipped the detective's nose. "Hahaha!" chuckled Hermes, "Gotcha!" "Sir, I don't really find it all that funny," said the embarrassed detective. Jason had to chuckle, it was sort of funny...

"Anyhoo, I suppose my friend and I will be getting out of here," started Hermes, raising from his seat. Jason did the same, starting to brim with glee. "I can't allow that, sir," stuttered the detective, pulling out a firearm. "Shame," sighed Hermes, "I thought you would be more bearing of this little issue..." At that moment, Hermes snapped his fingers, sending the detective flying backward into the door. Jason's eyes widened, "Hermes, I thought you would make this..., I don't know, less painful?" Hermes tsk tsked, "Jason, dear boy, sometimes there's a way of being gentle, and sometimes violent!"

Hermes' eyes then alighted with a gleeful flame in them. Jason gulped, this was starting to get slightly disturbing. Hermes was acting perhaps a tad bit out of character..., weird. "Let's go," smiled Hermes. At that moment, Klaxon alarms started resonating throughout the jail. "It appears the alarm's been tripped," blatantly stated Hermes. Jason smacked himself mentally. With a clap of his hands, Hermes dissolved Jason's handcuffs into nothingness. With yet another snap of his fingers, Hermes warped Jason out of existence.

Jason felt like he was riding a roller-coaster as the blur of inter-dimension traveling surged through him. If this was a way that immortals traveled, it was AWESOME! Feeling his vision shift, Jason immediately warped in a cell, with Hermes by his side. "Uh, Hermes, why are we here?" questioned Jason. "Picking up your friends, duh?" drawled Hermes. Looking in a corner, Jason saw Piper hunched to a side, sobbing. "Pipes!" exclaimed Jason, rushingto scoop her up. "J-Jason," sobbed Piper, "Ugh, the stuff, h-horrible...!" "Pipes, shh, we're safe now, we'll talk about this later," comforted Jason. Hermes warped the duo out of existence yet again.

Feeling the roller-coaster thrill yet again, it still didn't do enough to lift Jason's mood. These monsters hurt his Pipes..., and he was going to make them pay! Feeling the end of another phase-shift, Jason lifted up and found himself in Lou Ellen's cell. She was banging her head on a wall, with scratch marks over her arms. "Lou?" gasped Jason, still holding Piper by his side. "FINALLY!" roared Lou. "It took you long enough to bust us out!" Shifting her gaze, Lou noticed Hermes standing nearby, awkwardly rubbing his neck. "I won't ask why he's here, but whatever..," grumbled Lou Ellen. "No time to explain, later!" shouted Jason. "Hermes, get us out of here!" "Done," stated Hermes, snapping his fingers. Jason felt the phase-shift occur yet again.

Ironically enough, Jason ended up where he least expected to be. Hermes phase-shifted Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen right in the interrogation room. The three detectives interrogating a sniffling Hazel shot up like headless deer, with their eyes wide. "Haze!" shouted Lou Ellen, rushing to her friend's side. "So-so horrible," sniffled Hazel, breaking down. The detectives in the room immediately pulled out their handguns, aiming it at Hermes. "H-how did you do that?" stuttered one of them. "I'm awesome, 'nuff said," smiled Hermes, doing a small wave. "Sir, drop the weapon, now!" stammered another detective.

"Oh, this little thing?" asked Hermes, waving his newly appeared caduceus. "It's just my symbol, nothing much!" "I beggggg to diferrrrr," hissed one of the snakes, twirling around. In his daze, Jason boggled at the two snakes twirling around Hermes' caduceus. "Drop the snakes, sir!" exclaimed a golden-haired detective. "Ah, this is George and Martha, say hello, my dears," stated Hermes. "Pleassssed to meeetttt youuuuu," hissed the snake that appeared to be George. At that moment, one of the detectives fainted.

"Hermes, out, now!" shouted Jason. He really wanted to take advantage of this mass confusion to get out of here. "Fine, if you insist...," grumbled Hermes. Snapping his fingers, Hermes flashed out of existence first. Just a split second later, Jason felt his vision succumb to the phase shift, sending a clutched Piper and a group-hugging Hazel and Lou Ellen with him. As Jason traveled out of that Hades-hole of a disgrace, all he was thankful for was getting out of there with his friends, fiancee, and sanity intact.

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**You like? Review, review, review!**


	20. XX: Jason

**Hey guys! Back from a couple of weeks off! Sorry about this, I had an EXTREME case of writer's block, which I'm sure that everyone gets at one point.**

**Also, I ask for reviews. It helps motivate me to continue this story. Whether it be a kind comment, criticizing grammar, comments about the story in general, it doesn't matter. It just lets me know that there are people out there that want to see this continue..., so thanks! I'll take anything, I'm certainly not a crybaby... I pride myself on grammar! :D**

**As usual... reviews!**

**Lovedystopia: Thanks again! Those acronyms you make are cool. I want to see a long review from you sometime.., promise me :P. Also, I would ask if you could try and get more people to see this story and review.., it would help! How has Omega Ruby gone for you? I've beat it quite a few times already. Quite frankly, the Elite Four difficulty is MUCH better, since they have mega evos and a nice variety of pokemon on their teams. Rechallenging them over and over is a blast. Admittly, I enjoy using Primal Groudon for the LOLs of it. Don't blame me..., I like fire... SYNC!**

**Court: Thanks! And don't worry, George and Martha are in this chapter too..., for a little while. I hope you like an iPhone 6!**

**Greekpraetor: Thanks! It certainly does mean alot to me, as I work very, very hard on these things. I secretly hope to buy the copyrights off of Rick Riordian one day and publish this book series... Ah well, we can dream. Could be possible though, you never know. Hope to see another review from you soon!**

**WinterKit: Thanks for the kind words! I'll keep it up as best as I can!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus are owned by Rick "I killed Octavian by launching him off a catapult, ironically." Riordian.**

**So, without further ado...**

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**XX: Jason**

**Being bitten by a snake wasn't one of the highlights of Jason's day.** "Ow!" he shouted, gripping his right pinkie finger. "Plllleaseeee exxcusseee Georgeee," hissed Martha, twisting around Hermes' caduceus. From a corner, Hazel looked disgusted at the snakes' display. "Ah, please excuse George and Martha," frowned Hermes, "They haven't had their lunch yet..." Jason groaned inwardly; he didn't know magical snakes could have lunch. That, and he was still burning from their recent escape of the slammer.

Shaking his head, Jason turned back down toward his food. Hermes teleported Jason and the others to this nice little cafe by the Tennessee River, and the best part was that it happened to be overlooking the General Jackson Steamboat, barely a half-mile downriver. Jason mentally thanked Hermes for giving them the good stuff, including french fries and burgers. Jason felt like it had been forever since he had something decent to eat. Hermes was also basically a saint for wrapping some magic to make them obscure from mortals. Being arrested again would be a bummer.

"You made quite the headlines," stated Hermes. "By the way, that explosion was a nice touch!" "Uh, thanks?" said Hazel. Poor Hazel..., she was still shaking from their escape. Piper looked a little out of it too, and Lou Ellen was nonetheless worse for the wear. Jason sighed inwardly, at least they were all safe now, sitting in a six-chair round table in Trenlo's Cafe. Looking around, the cafe was cute, with 60s' style tiled floors and cherry-red walls. Jason's thoughts were interrupted by Hermes' voice. "Uh, does she look okay?" asked Hermes, gesturing to Hazel. "E-ex-excuse me for a moment," stammered Hazel, jumping up from her chair. "Do you know where the bathroom is?" Hermes pointed to a hallway on the left. "Later," groaned Hazel, dashing for the bathroom.

Lou Ellen winced out of sympathy, shifting in her chair. "I'll never get mortals and their need to puke," grumbled Hermes, stroking the head of George. "Heyyyyy, whhaaatt abbbouuttt meeeeee?" hissed Martha. "Shush now," quipped Hermes, minimizing his caduceus into a iPhone 6. "Ooo!" exclaimed Lou Ellen, "Can I have one of those?" "Well, you know how demigods and phones work out..., so.., no," said Hermes. "Party pooper," sighed Lou Ellen, sinking back into her chair. "You okay, Jason?" asked Piper, stroking his arm. "Pipes, I-I don't know, being in jail isn't exactly my thing," stuttered Jason.

"I-It wasn't any of our faults Jason," sighed Piper. "But if I paid attention, none of us would have gotten in this mess!" growled Jason, mentally berating himself. "Well, to interrupt you two lovebirds," began Hermes, typing in his iPhone 6, "Some of these guys who picked you up weren't..., well.., _human..." _"An ambush?" asked a surprised Lou Ellen. "Basically, or they coulda been picking your pockets," suggested Hermes.

"Wait, wait, so let me get this straight," stated Jason, "Some thingies disguised as humans wanted to cross us off?" "I could sense their presence in the jail, so it was like a guess or something," mused Hermes, "That, and they stunk to high heaven..., seriously, they needed some deodorant!" "Guys, is it just me, or do I smell a rat?" asked Piper. "Pipes, that couldn't be possible...," started Jason. Seriously, how could people rat them out already? It was barely days in the quest, and Jason couldn't think of anyone who would backstab them, barring the usual monsters or so.

"But why go to all that trouble, arresting us, and blending in with the mortals inside the jail?" questioned Lou Ellen. "Eh, probably for laughs," shrugged Hermes. "Gods are sadists anyway," grumbled Lou Ellen. "Hey!" protested Hermes, looking up from his iPhone. Jason looked back and forth at this live-wired conversation, and wiped his glasses. A smart-aleck-challenged demigod with a prankster god wasn't always the best combination. "Actually, you should be asking them about this!" exclaimed Lou Ellen, waving to her face. Looking closer, Jason shuddered. The scratches and scars were still present on Lou's banged-up face and arms. "Owch.., nasty," blinked Hermes.

"Of course it's going to be nasty..., I tried banging them up!" growled Lou, "No wonder they had all that super-strength..." At that moment, Jason inwardly sighed that he never had to pick a fight with those dudes. Good thing he decided to stay calm while in jail..., that, and super-panic mode. Well, at least Lou Ellen tried beating them up. Too bad it didn't work. Seriously, they banged up her face?

"Guys..., I-I need to see my dad," Piper said suddenly. "Wait, why?" asked Jason, getting all protective. He really didn't want to see Piper go through all that grief. "Ah, I see...," frowned Hermes, sighing. Wait, how could Hermes know already? Jason mentally berated himself for realizing that Hermes' godliness could see anywhere. "What is it?!" gasped Lou Ellen. "My-my dad, he's in a coma.., the detectives told me...," stuttered Piper, looking stressed. "How can that be possible?!" Jason exclaimed. Piper's dad seemed like the type not to get in comas. "I can explain that," Hermes said. "He can see through the Mist..."

"But he can'tttttt," expressed Lou, "Mortals like him can't see through the stupid, stinking, Mist!" "Young lady, I have my limits too," growled Hermes, "So I suggest that you don't test me..." With that, Lou Ellen closed her mouth. Jason would definitely give Lou the 2nd place award for ticking off gods. First place would go to Percy, of course. "Anyway, on the contrary, we're getting reports that more mortals are starting to see through the Mist," ended Hermes. "With all respect, it _shouldn't_ be possible," growled Lou, "My mother is the goddess of the Mist; I'm sure I know what I'm talking about!"

"We use the Mist, so I'm sure that I know what I'm talking about..," shot back Hermes. "Oh.., gods," muttered Piper, leaning back in her chair. "My dad can't handle this world, that's probably why..." "Relax..., he'll be fine, I'm pulling in a little favor from Apollo," said Hermes, "Besides, he owes me for that prank we pulled on Dad last week..." Jason decided not to ask what prank it was. Actually, that DID explain the slight drizzle they had... Piper sighed, "Thanks Hermes..." "Don't mention it, future sister-in-law!" Hermes exclaimed. At that moment, Jason did a spit-take from the water glass he was drinking.

"Ah, yes.., the future _Mrs. Grace!_" squealed Lou, jumping up and down. "Lou, are you okay?" asked Jason. "Hey, I gotta be a girl once in a while..," Lou stated. "Oh, Jason, I can't wait!" exclaimed Piper, shaking his hand. Jason and Hermes both shared a look: _girls._ Well, at least that got Piper's mind off of her dad. Jason hoped they could visit him later, they at least owed him that. "Tracing back on topic, again..," Lou muttered, "You HAVE to kill those thugs who disguised themselves in jail!"

"Uh, I don't really feel like it..," shrugged Hermes. Lou Ellen then flashed Hermes a dirty look. "Well, on the other hand, I can't sense them anymore," chuckled the god. "Whatever, Hermes, can we move on?" asked Jason, wanting to change the topic. That, and he swore to himself that he would find these thugs someday, and give them the beating of a lifetime. "Well, it's not like I came here for nothing...," laughed Hermes.

"Whatya mean, nothing?" said Piper, wiping away stray tears. Whether they were of joy or grief, Jason didn't know. He hoped it was joy. "Well, apparently, my grandmother decided to show up at camp.., so I'm avoiding her..." "Huh," started Jason, "At least that explains where Rhea went..." "Well, if you really knew my grandmother, she's kinda freaky in a crisis...," said Hermes, with wide eyes. "I think we noticed," grumbled Lou Ellen.

Jason felt sorry for New Athens and Camp Half-Blood, especially since they were facing the brunt of Rhea's wrath. "You shoulda seen Dad, Rhea was like, totally telling him off for stuff!" said Hermes. Jason laughed inwardly; the thought of Zeus being told off by his own mother was incredibly entertaining. "Apollo filmed one of those rants..., take a look!" gleefully said Hermes, gesturing toward his iPhone 6. Peering at the phone, Jason could see a video of Rhea beating Zeus over the head with a telephone pole. "HAHAHAHA!" laughed Lou Ellen, "Now that's a woman!"

"Oh, yes! There's one other thing you should know..." "What now?" groaned Jason. Seriously, you could fill a pamphlet with all that information! Well, scratch the pamphlet. A five-volume book series would do. "I thought you should know your dear friend, Calypso, has gone frolicking on a mini-quest of her own!" gleefully shouted Hermes. "Wait, what for?" asked Piper. "Well, you ask me, but she got like, permission or something to go interrogate her dad!" "Atlas?" questioned Jason. Jason remembered stories about Calypso's dad, Atlas. He really wasn't the best father... Most likely a contender for _worst father of the year._ Or millenia..., whatever.

"Though, if you ask me," started Hermes, "I secretly think she wanted to get away from Rhea too..." "Anyhow, she thinks Atlas may have a clue on what we're really facing..." "You could have interrogated him yourself, you know...," sighed Piper. "If you saw Atlas, he ain't giving us any answers," groaned Hermes, "Calypso could make a dent on him, though." "I'm going to guess Leo went with her," facepalmed Jason. "Yup, Frank too!" Hermes clapped. "Frankkk?" Lou Ellen questioned. "Don't ask, I don't know why..."

_Boom!_ A loud noise startled Jason. "What the heck was that?!" exclaimed Lou Ellen, rushing to the nearest window. At that moment, Jason nearly had a heart attack. It really reminded him of what happened in Athens, two years ago. "Jase, look at that...," Piper said, pointing outside. "That looks kinda bad..," Hermes muttered. Glancing outside, Jason could see popping lights coming from the General Jackson steamboat. It strangely reminded him of a fiesta show, minus the whole angry goddess and monster riot thing.

"So, I'm going to assume that we're jumping in there?" groaned Jason. Honestly, breaking up a monster fight wasn't up his alley. Either that, or it was a parade for evil villains. Whichever worked better. "Dear me..., it looks like Eris started her ceremony earlier..." sighed Hermes. Piper turned to Hermes, with a dirty look in her eye. "Since when did you bother telling us about a ceremony?" "Uh, now?" Hermes suggested.

"Seriously man?" Jason stated. "Well, I may have accidentally, uh, _forgot_ to tell you that Eris is, like, doing this summoning thingie..," stuttered Hermes. "What thing?" asked a newly arrived Hazel, pulling up a chair. "Well, well, great timing!" smiled Lou Ellen, all sarcastic-like. "Sorry guys. I-I don't know what came over me," groaned Hazel. "I felt like I puked up yesterday's lunch."

"Young demigods, there comes a time in your life where you feel the need to puke...," said Hermes. "That's stupid advice!" Lou Ellen shouted. "Now, listen here you-!" "Okay, Hermes, back on topic...," butted in Jason, "How come you never felt the need to tell us about this ritual?!" Jason had to applaud the gods there. Really? Hermes couldn't bother telling them about a doomsday event? "Well, we don't really know what she's doing, to be honest," started Hermes, "And before you ask, we can't see either, she's surrounded in some magical veil..." Lou Ellen then shut her mouth, about to say something.

"Maybe I could wrap some Mist around us?" suggested Hazel. "Possibly," Hermes began, "I WILL warn you, Eris is the goddess of chaos and strife, and any attempt going near her.., well, won't end well for any of you..." "We HAVE to do this, Hermes," stated Jason, "She's our only way of finding out where the Fates are!" Jason really wanted this over with already. He hoped the Fates wouldn't be anywhere too difficult. That, and no good came out of having the Fates kidnapped anyway. Heck, even Zeus still wouldn't spend time with him. Even Hermes was being SO much better, sitting down, and having a nice chat with Jason and the others.

"Good luck with that, then...," bowed Hermes, putting his iPhone 6 in his pocket. "Wait, you're leaving?" Hazel asked. "Yeah..., I gotta deliver the mail, you know?" stated Hermes, gesturing to his _Olympus Express_ uniform. "I tried to help, so..., yeah, sorry guys..." "Wait, then why didn't you just snap your fingers and teleport us where we wanted to go?!" yelled Lou. "Lou...," began Hazel. "Nah, good point," Hermes started, "Zeus still wants us not to interfere TOO much..., and I would rather not be grounded for the next couple thousand of years..." "Fair enough," Lou Ellen shrugged.

"Good luck, demigods," wished Hermes, backing out of the cafe front door. "Hermes," waved Jason. "Yesssss?" Hermes droned. "Thanks.., really..." Hermes grinned, "It's not a problem, _brother..._, just know..., I do wish we had more time for our kids..." And with that, the messenger god faded into the wind-breeze.

"Well, that was cheerful!" piped Piper. "Seriously, most helpful god on this quest so far...," Lou Ellen grumbled. "I'm sorry, guys, what did I miss again?" Hazel questioned. "Haze, dear friend of mine," Lou said as she wrapped an arm around Hazel, "You have A LOT of catching up to do..." "Hazel, did you really puke for that long?" Jason asked. The fact that Hazel could have been throwing up that long was disturbing to him. "Um, not really," blushed Hazel. "I had to make a few IMs..."

"Well, as long as it's not something that we'll all totally regret later...," said Lou Ellen. "Guys, shouldn't we be getting on with this already?" Piper questioned, gesturing to the steamboat. The popping noises were getting louder and louder, and the intense light was getting even brighter. "I have no idea how we forgot about that..., but, let's go!" Lou Ellen chirped, pumping her right fist in the air. "Might want to clean up that trash," gestured Hazel, to the mess of a meal that still remained on the table. "Eh, the busboys will take care of it," stated Lou. "But we're not filthy pigs...," Hazel stammered. Just then, a streak of golden light shot into the sky above the steamboat, making a _BANG!_

"On the other hand, this is more important!" Jason exclaimed. Honestly, it was kind of stupid that Hazel was arguing over trash, when the fate of the world was at stake..., again..., for like the third time in five years. Running for the door, Jason shoved it open, with the others hot on his heels. The warm, summery air greeted his face. Looking at a nearby newspaper machine, Jason noticed the date. _July 28th,_ it said. "So we were in jail for three days..., huh." stated Piper.

"Whatever, let's go!" exclaimed Lou, running out onto the street toward the steamboat. Pursuing Lou, Jason glanced back at the cafe. The exterior was a chocolate brown, with mocha trimmings. Six other business fronts were deployed on either side. "PRETTY!" shrieked a new voice. Looking ahead at the riverfront, Jason noticed a small girl pointing a finger at the streaks of light protruding from the riverboat. "Amanda, LET'S GO!" yelled a middle-aged woman, snatching the child up. "Even more who can see?!" screamed Lou Ellen. "Forget it, and let's gooo," soothed Piper, putting charmspeak in her words. Instinctively, Jason felt the urge to walk calmly to the steamboat.

"If I'm right, there should be an access point over there," pointed Hazel, to a gantryway leading to the steamboat interior, over 1/4 of a mile away. Hey, demigods ran fast, so whatever. Taking Piper's hand, Jason dragged her to a parallel sidewalk. It would have been a nice day for a walk, but apparently, today was sunny, warm, and a 100% chance of doom. "Waitttt," panted Lou, as she and Hazel caught up to the couple. "So we're charging in there without our weapons and no battle plan?"

"I have the Mist covered already," gasped Hazel. Glancing down, Jason saw white mist swirl around his body. "Nice job," smiled Piper. "And to you, _handsome_," she said, glancing at Jason, "We'll finish this later.." Okay, that was totally random. Hopefully, Piper was talking about the walk..., yeah, most likely. If it was about that _other_ thing they didn't finish right before the quest started..., yeah.., that was going to be interesting.

A rumble under the earth stopped Jason in his tracks. Piper's smile vanished. "What is that...?" Hazel slowly said. Jason felt sick to his stomach, this felt _exactly _like Gaea's rising two years ago. Except, this time was different..., and it certainly wasn't Gaea... "Look!" Lou Ellen shouted, pointing to the steamboat that was now just a hundred feet away. Glancing up, Jason could see crowds of monsters clogging up the top deck. In the middle of it all was a woman in a silky purple dress. That was all Jason could see from that far. Dozens of _venti_ swirled around, and even more of these _mardai_ that Jason recognized from their last encounter were patrolling the outer part of the boat.

"Well, I guess it's time to find out why we're here," gulped Hazel. Piper squeezed Jason's hand one last time, and the comfort was reassuring. Besides cutting off all blood flow to the arm, that is. "AT LAST!" echoed the voice of the woman, ringing in Jason's ear. "FELLOW BRETHREN, PREPARE YOURSELVES!" "Well, this is going to be fun," sighed Lou. "AS FOR THESE DEMIGODS," started the woman, turning toward Jason's direction. For one creepy moment, Jason felt as if the woman could actually see them. "BRING THEM TO ME!" bellowed the demented lady.

"Uh, guys...," stammered Hazel. "What?" hissed Lou Ellen. "She can see us...," whimpered Hazel. Looking down, Jason felt the pit of his stomach drop. Their mist disguise was gone. With a bellow, the monsters charged.

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**You like? PLEASE review!**


	21. XXI: Frank

**Hello all, back again in 24 hours with yet another chapter... :P **

**I had a nice idea for this, and I didn't have any classwork to do.., so I had quite the unoccupied evening. Be sure to review and follow!**

**As for reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Thanks again! I certainly assure you, this chapter has action for like 1/2-3/4 of its duration. It was already planned anyway, so.., yeah. It's a pretty action-rific chapter. Best part is seeing Leo and Calypso again... :D. Also, hope you get that 3DS soon! You could try the 2DS, which is what I have, and it only costs $120. There really isn't any difference, the only thing is the 3D sliding bar that only the 3DS has. But then again.., who even uses the sliding bar? It hurts most people's eyes anyway, and most games like Pokemon don't have that kind of 3D support.**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belong to Rick "I will buy the copyright someday..." Riordian**

**Without further ado.., enjoy!**

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**XXI: Frank**

**Frank wasn't sure what was going to kill him first: the dragon, or Leo.** "GERONIMO!" yelled Leo, twisting Festus in the sky. As Frank clung on for dear life, Calypso hollered along with Leo. "Leooo! Faster!" she yelled with glee. Frank felt uncomfortable clinging on to the arms of Calypso, as she hung on to the waist of Leo. Beneath him, he couldn't see anything but thick, white clouds. If Frank had to guess, they were thousands of feet above the ground. Great! Just enough room to become a demigod pancake if Festus happened to fall out of the sky.

Well, there certainly wasn't anything better than taking a road trip to visit an estranged Titan with a friend raised from the dead. That, and said friend's good-looking girlfriend. Sure, Hazel was awesome, but Frank couldn't help but admit that Leo landed himself quite the catch. Apparently, being dead had its benefits. Frank wondered how his gorgeous girlfriend was doing on her quest.

Last he heard, an IM from Hazel mid-flight forty-five minutes ago, made him growl in anger. _Focus, Frank,_ he whispered to himself. He would deal with those shady thugs later. "How's everything back there, Frank?!" shouted Calypso, over the roar of the wind. "Peachy!" Frank shouted back. "Hey, Frank, if you want, there's tofu rolls in the storage if you're hungry!" boasted Leo, gripping the armor of Festus. "No thanks, I'll pass!" Frank wasn't in the mood for tofu rolls, considering that he was lactose intolerant, and the wind was putting him off of his appetite.

Also, the fact that Leo was alive still astonished him. Frank felt embarrassed for fainting in front of the whole Senate, much less his own legion. Seriously, what kind of praetor faints in front of his troops? Frank was sure that he was never going to live this down, especially since he woke up in a trauma ward, and half the population of New Rome was gone. That aside, flying to Camp Half-Blood as a dragon, with Festus edging him on, was disturbingly tiring. Being greeted by a long-lost-thought-to-be-dead friend almost made him pass out again. And meeting his dad, Mars, again, also made him almost past out. Mother of Mars..., what the heck was wrong with him?!

"Port!" yelled Leo, swerving Festus to a sharp dive on the left. Frank felt his stomach drop, being exposed to a massive air-pressure drop. He swore that Leo got even more crazier in the last two years. In the corner of his right eye, Frank saw a herd of _venti_ blast right past Festus. "Plan E?!" Leo suggested. Frank wondered what the heck Plan E was.

He got his answer five seconds later. "Frank, hold on tight!" ordered Calypso, shrugging his hands off her shoulders. "I AMMM!" shouted Frank, now clutching Festus' back leg plates as the dragon continued diving down. Looking at Calypso, Frank noticed her sliding out a white, leather whip out of the left cargo hold. "DIEEEEE!" screamed Calypso, standing up, and doing a somersault off of Festus, spiraling toward the ground.

"WHAT THE JUPITER WAS THAT?!" Frank yelled. "Plan E!" Leo shot back, over the ever-increasing roar of the wind. Looking down, Frank saw Calypso's body slam into the forming mass of a single _ventus_. She wrapped the whip around the _ventus_, and the strands started glowing as bright as a quasar. The _ventus_ started struggling under the glowing whip, and the chokehold of Calypso. The struggle continued for fifteen seconds, as both Festus and the _venti _herd continued its freefall. The lone _ventus _went slack under the death grip, and started drifting aimlessly.

Frank reminded himself never to make Leo's girlfriend angry. That woman could kill. Literally. "LEO!" bellowed Calypso, now jumping off the dissolving _ventus_, and continuing her freefall to the ground. At that moment, Frank screamed like a girl as Leo activated the boosters, making Festus dive at speeds that even Zeus would be jealous of. "That's my girl!" smiled Leo, gliding Festus down to Calypso's height. With a grunt, Calypso threw her left hand on Festus' right midsection. Struggling, she swung her legs back in front of Frank, settling behind Leo.

"Well, I'm glad you liked it, honey..," purred Calypso, wrapping her arms around Leo. Frank felt really uncomfortable by this display of affection. "Next time, do better!" shouted Calypso, hitting Leo over the head. "I knew there was something missing...," muttered Leo. "Guys, what about the rest of the _venti?!"_ shouted Frank, gesturing to the now-angry _venti_ herd, mourning the loss of their fellow mate.

"It's Leo time!" Leo cheered, fiddling with something in front of him that Frank couldn't see. A _whir_ and a _clack_ was heard as two twin machine-guns protruded from both sides of Festus' wings. "L-Leo, since when did Festus have machine guns?" stuttered Frank. "Since I installed them last year!" said Leo, gesturing proudly at his word. "Pst, I did most of the work...," whispered Calypso. "You did n-," began Leo, as the first _ventus_ of many streaked by. Frank felt like the Heimlich maneuver was being done on him as Leo pulled Festus straight up in the air, blasting into the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The angry _venti_ gave chase, howling like demons.

Frank saw his vision flip upside-down as Festus did a hammerhead turn, diving down onto the incoming _venti_. "FOR FREEDOM!" Leo screamed, as the machine-guns opened fire. A ringing sound blasted Frank's ear, as he realized that the bullets were tinted with celestial bronze. "AHAHAHA!" cackled Calypso, as half of the _venti_ herd was mowed down by machine-gun fire. Frank decided not to ask what happened the past two years; it seemed like things were crazy enough as it was.

Festus banked sharply to the right as the rest of the _venti_ whizzed by. Pulling up into a loop, the dragon turned to face the evil wind-demons once more. Frank wondered how many more of these maneuvers were going to be done before he hurled. The bad thing was that it was going to probably be all over Calypso. And he really wasn't in the mood to die right now.

With a _GRACKKKKKKKKK_, the bullets shredded into the remaining _venti_. Frank was incredibly freaked out by the bullets' incredible aim, obliterating an entire herd of storm spirits in seconds. Only one lone _ventus_ remained, churning slowly. Seeing Leo pressing an intercom system in Festus' interior, Frank wondered what was going to come out of this. "SURRENDER, OR BE DESTROYED BY THIS SPANKING HOT DRAGON!" boomed the intercom. Wisely, the storm spirit dissipated in thin air. The machine-guns on Festus' wings retracted and folded back inside their interior.

"That's, like, the dozenth time they've tried to scratch up my super-awesome demigodnishness in a month...," sighed Leo, pulling Festus into a steady glide. "You mean US," enunciated Calypso, glaring at Leo. "Nah, I'm pretty sure it's me," Leo shrugged. Frank watched this exchange with amusement, and a breath of relief. At least he wasn't going to puke, and the aerial maneuvers stopped!

"Uh.., m'am," started Frank, "What was that lasso thing you used earlier?" Turning her head to face Frank, Calypso smiled, "Oh, just a little gift I got; works wonders for killing storm spirits!" Frank decided not to ask where she got the lasso from. Eh, could be from Texas. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking!" started Leo, "Our altitude is in the tens of thousands, and we're currently flying over Missouri!" "Yes, yes, thank you, Captain Obvious," groaned Calypso. Frank wondered how the heck this couple had a dynamic like this, yet still managed to stay together.

"How can you guys even stand this?" gasped Frank. "Well, traveling the world for two years gave us room to improve our awesomeness," coughed Leo, "We have plans A to Z!" "Falling from Festus is a favorite pastime of ours, too!" chirped in Calypso. "So..., when are we getting to this Mount Tamal-wha?" stuttered Frank.

"Maybe in five hours..," Leo said. "Though," he smiled, "I can get us there in three!" "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" moaned Frank. "You might as we-, AHHHHHH!" he screamed, as Leo activated the extra-strong boosters. "WOOHOOO!" screamed Calypso, as Festus blasted off to thrice the normal speed he was flying at.

It was times like this that Frank wondered why the heck he was on this mini-quest at all. Heck, even he wondered why Calypso asked him to go. She looked like the type who didn't want to be interrupted by a klutz. Music blared from Festus' speakers to the tune of _Valkyrie. _Frank shot Leo a weird look. Seriously, why _Valkyrie? _The son of Hephaestus didn't seem to notice though, happily staring at the horizon, with his girlfriend around his arms. Aw, Frank was getting sentimental now. This was a time where Hazel's company would really be appreciated. Stupid steamboat...

Well, at least there was something good about going on this quest. Right at number one was getting away from that crazy goddess who showed up in New Athens, claiming to be the mother of Zeus. Admittedly enough, watching Zeus getting scolded was funny. Apparently, Rhea thought it was a bad idea for Zeus to be obsessed with "Dancing with the Stars" Even more interesting was the fact that Rhea and Calypso hit it right off. That's right, right in the middle of New Athens, like old buddies. Fair enough, Frank heard that Calypso was a Titan, and so was Rhea. Talk about power to the people... Though, it did make him nervous, having once-enemies of the gods lurking around.

"Hey, guys, want to stop for lunch?" suggested Leo. "Leo!" exclaimed Calypso, lightly slapping him. "You ate two hours ago!" "Well, fighting evil clouds gets a demigod hungry..," he grumbled. Frank had to agree with that, he was getting hungry too. Well, the aerial maneuvers made him hungry. That, and facing near-death for the one-billionth time. Sure, shape-shifting could work, but Frank was too terrified to attempt it with that bullet-fight going on.

"Right, here and there..," muttered Leo, fiddling with some controls. With a grunt, Festus started slowly diving to the ground. Sure, the ground was still thousands of feet away, but at least they were making progress. Frank was just thankful that Leo lowered the booster speed. When Festus cleared the cloud layer, all Frank could think was _wow._ In his peripheral vision, a city laid right below him. Building spires gestured to the sky, with a blend of modern and lesser-day architecture spreading throughout the city. Rolling hills with farms in the distance overlaid the city like a watch.

"Ah, here we are, the great old town of Jefferson City, Missouri!" exclaimed Leo, spreading his arms wide. "Though, if you ask me, it could use a little Leo-sprucing..." Calypso snorted through her nose at Leo's antics. Yup, Frank would award Calypso the #1 award for putting up with annoying boyfriends. She did have life experience after all. Pulling out a pair of binoculars, Leo pointed to a distant building. "Hey, there's a Burger King over there!" he cheered. "Frank, want Burger King?" questioned Calypso.

"Sure, why not?" shrugged Frank. With all honesty, he didn't mind. He was starving, and a good burger seemed like the way to hit the spot right now. "Calypso, can we get the toy meal?!" begged Leo, bringing Festus down a couple thousand more feet. At that moment, Calypso facepalmed, and so did Frank. Geez, Leo really hadn't changed much over the last two years..., Frank was very much convinced of that.

Suddenly, a loud whistling noise penetrated Frank's ears. "Holy A-" began Calypso, pointing to three streaks of charcoal rocks that were launched from the ground. The rocks were easily fifty feet in diameter each. "FESTUS! EVASIVE MANEUVER T!" growled Leo, pulling back on the reins holding the dragon's neck. Festus twisted in a corkscrew spiral, pointing upward to the sky again.

Frank felt the wind ripple through his hair as the rocks barely missed Festus by mere feet. "Da wha? Is this two years ago all over again?!" yelled Leo, pulling Festus down for another dive. "Ambush, they know we're here," growled Calypso. "Am I missing something here...?" asked Frank. "It's a long, long story Frank, but I'm not in the mood to tell right now," Calypso sighed.

Frank felt totally out of this unspoken communication thingie that Leo and Calypso were having. What exactly happened that made them this wary? Just then, another volley of rocks were launched from the ground, and Frank was sure that they were aimed toward his head. A loud _screech_ was heard as Festus pulled into an inverted position, narrowly avoiding the rocks yet again. Frank was starting to feel queasy, really queasy. Especially since he was still dangling upside-down on a bronze dragon with rocks trying to kill them.

"We need to land," muttered Calypso, "Those catapult launchers won't be giving us any peace..." "Already started on it three seconds ago!" Leo said gleefully. "Wha-," began Frank, as he got the sinking feeling of going down like an elevator car. With horrifying realization, he realized that Festus was sinking to the ground, still inverted. With a gag, Frank couldn't help but puke all over Calypso's back.

"FRANK!" screamed Calypso, with a disgusted look on her face, "AS SOON AS WE LAND, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" "L-Leo? Hel-Help here?" stuttered Frank, trying to scooch away from Calypso as far as possible. Which failed, since they were stuffed together on an inverted dragon. "You're on your own, Franky-boy, I learned a LONG time ago not to mess with her," muttered Leo, still concentrated on the descent.

Frank could see the ground now. _Three-thousand feet, two-thousand five-hundred... _Well, this was going to be fun. Provided that he didn't die first, that was. Festus reverted his stance, until Frank and the others were now the right-side up. Coming in for a gliding, Festus settled on a grassy hill just outside of the city. "Alright, here's the plan," stated Calypso, "We split off, find these catapults, blow them up, then leave!" "Sounds good," shrugged Leo, "But hey, can you pick up the burgers while you're at it?" Calypso gave Leo the stink eye, and the son of Hephaestus backed off. "Uh, Calypso, is there anything else I should be looking for?" Frank asked, not wanting to argue. "Ah, just watch out for _poizoisai_," shrugged Calypso.

"Pa-whaa?" Frank questioned. "It's an old monster from back in my Titan days, just don't let them spit on you...," gritted Calypso, "I had to find a cure for Leo once, in a Brazilian jungle, after he got spit on by one..." "And before you ask, I don't know why they're reappearing after thousands of years..," butted in Calypso. Well, that was good enough for Frank. He certainly wasn't going to argue with a maniacal and slightly monster-homicidal woman.

"Yup, I was dying.., those were nasty things!" peppered Leo. Festus bellowed fire into the air as a response. "I'll find out what's going on here," Calypso began, "And Festus..., STAY, unless we call you!" The dragon whimpered like a newborn kitten. "There there," smiled Calypso, stroking Festus' head. Well, great, apparently this woman could treat metal dragons like pets too... "Here's some sauce..," Leo smiled, setting down a bottle of Tabasco sauce.

_Thunk thunk thunk._ Turning his attention from Festus and the couple, Frank noticed more rocks hurtling in their direction. "MOVE!" he yelled. Festus scattered out of the way, as Leo and Calypso bolted toward the city. "See you later Frank!" called Calypso, "Meet us back here in three hours!" "Oh, and Frank," added Calypso, gesturing to the vomit that was still on her backside, "I will KILL you for this later!" Frank gulped. He guessed that _later_ was not going to be a very happy time.

Taking a running start, Frank imagined the soaring skies and clear clouds. His mind went blank as he transformed into a giant eagle, shooting off toward Jefferson City. Banking left and right, he kept a sharp eye out for any more of those rock projectiles. Wait, how did those catapults even know where they were on the ground anyway? Eh, probably some sight-spotters or something.

Glancing down, Frank noticed that he passed the running form of Leo and Calypso, as they entered the city. They started navigating through dim back alleys and narrow streets. Gleaning on the horizon, Frank shot ahead of the couple. Well, this quest was turning out to be a really interesting one... The outskirts of Jefferson City greeted Frank as he started searching for those stupid catapults. The area he was in, however, wasn't pleasant. Frank could see slums and run-down projects scattered around the outer fringes. Dilapidated parks were a sore eyesight to see.

Downtown Jefferson City was in Frank's eyesight, as he shot off toward it. It was a pretty nice day to be an eagle, considering it was all sunny and stuff. The wind currents up here were pretty nice too. An eagle's eyesight was very sharp, so it was no surprise to Frank that he noticed a catapult standing in the middle of a nearby plaza, 1/3 of a mile away.

Mother of Juno.., there were so many unanswered questions that made Frank confused. He shut his mouth for the sake of the quest, but he needed answers soon. It was a shame that Frank wasn't paying attention, since a rock projectile slammed into him at the last second.

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	22. XXII: Frank

**Hey all! You guys are in for a TREAT! This chapter is the longest one that I've ever done so far, and it's pretty interesting. All my chapters will be between 3,000-4,000 words, ALWAYS. None of the writing content will be going beyond that word count. I know I have to add content to some of the earlier chapters, mostly 1-8, in order to reach that. But, as I said earlier, by the time this book is done, all the chapters will be polished up to my expected standards. This is a WIP, so expect a nice, polished product by the end :D. That includes breaking down some of the choppy stuff in earlier chapters, too long of paragraphs, etc.**

**Anyway, that's enough ranting for now. Time for reviews!**

**Lovedystopia: Thanks for reviewing! I swear, your review just brought a huge smile to my face when you posted it. I'm happy that you're looking into a 2DS, and they're actually pretty interesting. Just don't listen to these fanboys who complain about them... I've actually been able to fit my 2DS in some of my pant pockets pretty comfortably. This chapter has quite a bit of action in the last part, so you should be satisfied. This is actually a pretty good one that I think you'll like anyway.**

**Hercules: Thanks! I'm pleased that you find my descriptive writing enjoyable. And yes indeed.., poor Frank. Everyone know's he's obviously the third wheel on the quest behind Leo and Calypso... See you next time!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "I FREAKING WISH I HAD THE COPYRIGHT" Riordian.**

**So, without further ado...**

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**XXII: Frank**

**Being bound and gagged was not good news for Frank.** Also, add the fact that he had a meat sack on his head. Shaking around in darkness, as far as Frank was aware, he was in this dinky, gray room. For some reason, Frank felt something tight cinched on his right wrist. The last thing that Frank could remember was falling to the ground with a broken wing. The bad thing? A mob of yellow-like creatures knocked him out at that point. Weird thing was that they had four arms. Their dirty hair could have used a comb-over too.

With all his might, Frank tried rolling over the cold floor, feeling for an exit. Well, a form of escape would be really nice. That, and Frank didn't want to become a monster's main-course meal. Where the heck was Leo and Calypso? Frank hoped they were disabling the catapults at this moment. The worst-case scenario was that they could have been captured too. Or making out in a dinky alley. Geez, those two had some CRAZY chemistry...

While trying to grapple and feel around with binded hands, Frank wondered what the heck Hazel was up to. He hoped she was doing okay on her quest with Jason and the others. Hazel didn't say much in the IM, but Frank wondered how the heck she ended up in jail in the first place. All she said was that some thugs tried ambushing her, and she was on her way to this random steamboat in Tennessee. Shaking out of his thoughts, Frank felt a wave of elation pass over him as he could feel a small door. With a grunt, Frank tried smashing his left shoulder through it. The door buckled and groaned, but still stood. Yup, it was definitely iron, as Frank felt a welt of pain shoot through. Shape-shifting wasn't going to work, since Frank couldn't change for some reason. Seriously, what the heck?

Frank felt as if all the energy had been drained out of him, like a demigod milkshake being sucked up. He hoped those monsters didn't have prejudice toward Chinese-Canadians. With a renewed effort, Frank nudged toward the door again, only to fall through the doorway. "Well, well, well," snickered a new voice, "It appears that the son of Mars is awake, at long last!"

Frank internally cursed; whoever they were, they must have opened the door right before he was about to attempt ramming through again. Ugh, he really wished that his 450-man strong Twelfth Legion was here to aid him. Frank felt his stomach lurch as he was picked up by the arms. "Heavy..," wheezed the voice on the left, which sounded male. "Shut up and drag him! The boss wants him in the other room!" yelled the other voice, which sounded male too. "Guys, mind slacking the pace?" Frank sighed, dragging his feet on the floor as sluggishly as possible. "SHUT UP!" the voice on the right shouted.

Gritting his teeth, Frank tried to shape-shift again. The tight thing on his wrist squeezed even harder, making him wince in agony. The stupid thing was disabling his ability to change, Frank was sure of it. At least his captors were smart. Wherever they were dragging him, Frank could smell musty mothballs, making him cough and hack. Did they stuff him in a coat closet or something?

After about a hundred feet of being dragged, and cuss words protruding from the mouth of the voices, Frank felt himself being thrown onto the floor of another room. His head made impact with the floor, definitely concrete. Frank blinked his eyes as one of his captors pulled off his meat-sack hood. His first thought: _SO BRIGHT!_ Well, the only thing that Frank saw was six lightbulbs on the laminate ceiling, but then again, he didn't know how long his eyes were in darkness.

"Now, be a good demigod, and stay there!" ordered one of the male voices. Turning his head to look, Frank recognized the two bodies as the people who knocked him out in the first place. Yellow skin? Check. Four arms? Check. A dirty mess? Double check. Gazing to his right wrist, Frank noticed a golden band clamped on it. He forced himself to look back up at his captors.

"The boss will want to see you later, son of Marssss," sneered the yellow guy on the left. Frank blushed in nervousness, and bent his head down. In reality, Frank wanted to beat them up, but it was better to play the strategy of a helpless demigod. Turning back into the doorway, the yellow men left the room, slamming the door behind Frank. Scooting around to face the opposite end of the room, Frank noticed the people.

There were about twenty of them laid up against the wall, with silver handcuffs bracing their hands together. The room seemed to be about seventy feet by seventy feet, and it was freaking _cold_. "Soo, they got you too?" asked a girl on the right-hand corner. She had warm, brown eyes and midnight black hair. Looking closer, Frank noticed she looked about seventeenish. "I.., uh, made a few mistakes?" stammered Frank. He wasn't sure how to explain this, considering that the girl looked like a mortal. She shrugged, "Ah well, I can't say much, though..."

"So..., mind explaining why there's twenty people handcuffed in this room?" Frank questioned. "These _people_ are my family," the girl growled, gesturing to the others. At least half of them were asleep, in a snore. The rest of them were either semi-conscious or in a daze. "The first thing I know," began the girl, "We were at this music concert, them BAM, these yellow dudes kidnapped all of us!"

"Uh, you can see them?" asked Frank. "Well, since they had four arms..., I guess...?" "Do you have both parents?" butted in Frank, curious to see where this was going. "Yes..., and my name's Eva, if you bothered to ASK," sighed the girl. "Sorry...?" stated a puzzled Frank. The only girl he could probably understand was Hazel. The rest of them were complicated, and Frank didn't know why.

"Whatever," sighed Eva. She blew her stray bangs off of her face, leaning her back against the wall. "You know.., you seem a little odd for a mortal," started Frank, just then realizing his mistake. "MORTAL?!" yelled Eva, "What do you mean, mortal?!" "Never mind," Frank began, trying to diffuse the situation. "Don't 'never mind' me!" lectured Eva, "Whoever you are, you WILL tell me why we're here!"

Ignoring the ranting girl, Frank took a look around the room, trying to plan an escape. Well, this was going to be interesting. Frank wasn't going to just leave those mortals to fend for themselves down here, he was sure of that. "Hey, are you listening?!" screamed Eva, wiggling around in her bonds. "Shush, I'm trying to think," grumbled Frank. As nice as he tried to be, Frank had to admit that mortals were a tad bit on the endearing side. "Well, a plan to get out of here would be nice!" Eva shouted. Turning to stare at Eva, "That was the point..," sighed Frank.

"Question, do these guards ever come around here?" Frank asked, interrupting Eva in mid-rant. "Twice a day, since we got kidnapped five days ago," she moaned. A yawn interrupted Frank's conversation, and he turned to see a small boy stirring from his sleep. "Aw, Henry, go back to sleep," coaxed Eva. "I'm scared," he whined, tears glistening in his eyes. Okay, this was low. Kidnapping a young boy, looking to be about six years old, and tying him up in chains, was downright dirty!'

"Uh, if you see, this is Henry, my cousin," explained Eva, trying to scoot closer to him for comfort. "Hi Henry.., how are you?" whispered Frank. By Pluto's pauldrons, he was going to bust this kid out! "I'm scared..," whimpered Henry. "The name's Frank, pleased to meet you!" Frank said, trying to put on a smile. "So, your name is Frank?" Eva asked. "Yes, yes it is," he sighed.

"Can you help?" Henry begged, with puppy eyes. "Listen, Henry, I could try and bust us out of here, but I'm gonna need your help, okay?" Eva's eyes twinkled at that statement, "You can get us out of here?!" "Maybe," Frank sighed, "But if Henry could try and take this off..," as Frank gestured to the gold bangle on his wrist. "B-but I need this off," stammered Henry, shaking his hands.

Frank had to smile; the captors made a fatal mistake. Henry's hands were binded with thick nylon rope, not handcuffs. He guessed that whoever was holding them in here didn't think Henry would be strong enough to wiggle out. "Henry, do me a favor, and lay down on the side," ordered Frank. Henry complied, looking a little shaken up. Frank hoped that what he was about to do, Eva would forgive him later. With a burst of effort, Frank reached Henry's binds, and started chomping down his teeth on them. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Eva shouted, trying to throw herself on Frank.

"I-I-mu-st-gg-et-this-off," burbled Frank, as he tried chewing through Henry's binds. "H-he-heee, that tickles!" giggled Henry, as Frank loosened the ropes. With a sigh, Henry wiggled his hands out. Well, there was Step One of Frank's plan complete! "Hey, Henry, now, pull this off," Frank said, swinging his hands toward Henry. With a grunt, the small child yanked and tugged on Frank's bangle.

"What is that thing even supposed to be doing?" asked Eva, watching the scene unfold, and visibly calmer than ten seconds ago. "Uh, well, it kind of disables a power of mine," Frank explained. Eva laughed just then, "Are you like a superhero or something?" "To you mortals, maybe," Frank muttered. At this, Eva went slightly pale. "W-what are you?" she stammered. "Don't worry, I'm a friend," Frank smiled, trying to lighten the mood. Suddenly, a sharp feeling of utter relief coursed through Frank as Henry yanked the bangle off.

"Success!" cheered Eva. "Thank Mars," Frank sighed, "I thought that was never going to come off!" "What do you mean by that, mister?" asked Henry, scooting up to Eva's side. "Well, he's my dad..., so.., yeah..," stammered Frank. "You have a dad named Mars? That's really weird...," said Eva, rolling her eyes. "Mars wha?" butted in a new voice. Turning his gaze to the left, Frank noticed a middle-aged man stirring from his sleep. "What is all this racket?!" "Dad.., this is Frank, he's going to help us," Eva explained.

"Eva, I don't want you talking to someone we don't know!" scolded the middle-aged man. "Dad..., we're kidnapped, for goodness' sake!" Eva exclaimed. Frank looked at this conversation like a tennis match. Hopefully the guards would come soon, and he could hatch Part Two of his plan... "For Jupiter's sake, can you hush down?!" yelled Frank. He was seriously getting a headache with all the arguing going on today. This was almost as bad as Leo and Calypso!

"Shut it! You have no right to talk to me like that!" roared the man. Frank noticed more members of Eva's family stirring from sleep, muttering things amongst themselves. "Daddy.., please..," begged Henry, speaking up. "Henry?" questioned the man, "What are you doing?" "Trying to help mister Frank!" stated Henry. "I want you to shush, it, and go back on that wall!" the father bellowed. "Frank, just ignore him, he's kinda unreasonable...," Eva groaned.

"Young lady, if we ever get out of this, we're having a talk when we get home...," growled Eva's dad. The chattering and arguing got louder, which secretly pleased Frank. Good thing Frank decided to pretend to shush everyone, and it got the desired results. Hopefully, it would attract the attention of the guards soon. Inwardly, Frank did a prayer for not having ADHD. It proved helpful in this situation. Dear Juno... He wondered how the heck Percy would do if this happened to him. A loud _bang_ ringed across the room as the two yellow dudes from earlier barged in, with a sword in each of their hands. The noise jerked the rest of Eva's family awake.

Some of these said members started screaming in terror. "FOR THE LAST TIME, SHUT IT!" bellowed the dude on the right. "OH, I'll show you how to shut it, you p-" began Eva, as Henry coaxed her into leaning back. You want me to show you?!" roared the four-arm dude, taking a step toward Eva. "Hey, dudes," started Frank. "And what is it, son of MARS," the creature spat. "Next time, tying a six-year old using nothing but rope is a bad idea," Frank said. "What do you-," the creature began, and froze as he realized that Frank's bangle was off.

With a growl, Frank felt inner rage boil inside him. He could hear the screaming of Eva's family, and seeing them try to back away from him, including Eva herself. Frank focused with all his might, feeling his hands turn into fanged claws, and his binds breaking under the transformation. As his mind cleared, Frank looked down and realized that he metamorphed into a lion. "Oh, _Schi_-" began the guard who threatened Frank.

The guard never got a chance to finish his sentence, since Frank raked a claw across his chest in the next two seconds, sending him right back to Tartarus. With a leap, Frank jumped the width of the room to the other guard, opening his fangs wide. It was a shame, since the other dude never even got a chance to say good-bye! As he gnashed, Frank felt a wave of inner satisfaction. He reminded himself to get Henry a gift later.

Doing a roll, Frank transformed back into human form, landing on his feet. "W-what are you?" stuttered Eva's father, cowering in fear. "That was SO COOL!" cheered Henry, jumping up and down. "Frank, what the heck was that?!" shouted a trembling Eva. "Frank Zhang, son of Mars, demigod at your service," said Frank, doing a bow. "Y-you _freak_!" growled a middle-aged woman pressed to the back of the wall. Even with clueless mortals, it still made Frank sting. He wasn't a freak, was he?

No.., Frank HAD to focus. He had to get these people out of here before the alarm was raised. "I don't have time to explain, but we NEED to get out of here!" boomed Frank, with a determined expression. "And why should we trust you?!" said Eva's father. "Because I do...," butted in Eva, slowly tiptoeing toward Frank. "Mister Frank is nice!" Henry said, running to Frank's side. Frank felt a swell of hope. At least some people had trust...

"You two get back here, now!" stomped Eva's father. "You listen to your father!" ordered the middle-aged woman. "Well, we have a chance of getting out of here with Frank, so I'm GOING, and that's final!" roared Eva, getting agitated. "I'm going now, final offer..," pleaded Frank, trying to reach out to the warring parents. "As much as this is extremist," said a woman in her sixties, "We can leave, David..." Turning to the hall, Frank could hear the shouts of more guards coming. "Eva, come on, we have to go!" yelled Frank, pulling Eva and Henry by their hands, slashing their binds.

Dashing through the door, a very, very long room greeted Frank. It was easily a thousand feet long, and various doors were lined up neatly to the sides. Where they lead to, Frank didn't know, and he was sure he didn't want to know. The extremely scary thing was the weapons that were present. Frank could see a few catapults and ammunition stacked in rows. What was even worse was the amount of missiles he saw in launching pads, topped with celestial bronze and imperial gold incendiaries.

_Pila_, swords, and just about every type of demigod weapon was present, secured tightly in at least two-hundred fifty racks. With horror, Frank realized that there was enough weapons and missiles in here to equip an entire army. What in the name of Mars' mother was this all for?! Frank felt queasiness in his stomach, as he thought that this "minor disturbance" could actually mean another war on a huge scale.., like two years ago...

"Is that a way out?!" Eva asked, gesturing to the end of the room. Hope surged in Frank's veins as he saw an elevator right where Eva was pointing. "I wanna see the sun!" Henry shouted, jumping up and down. "Yeah buddy, same here," Frank replied, trying to swallow down his bile of horror. First things first, Frank had to decimate this place. There was no way he was letting an unknown enemy get all these weapons.

"Hey, wait!" shouted a voice behind Frank. Frank noticed Eva's dad, mom, and the woman in her sixties struggling to catch up. "Dad, where are the others?!" cried Eva. "I-I can't get them to come," weeped Eva's dad. "Even Pu-Pu won't come?!" asked Henry, clutching Frank's hand tightly. "I-I tried," sobbed David. "Sir," he turned to Frank, "I apologize for earlier, I just want to go home..." Frank could relate to that; being away from home could fray a person's nerves. "As much as I would like to take you home, I need to deal with this first," said Frank, gesturing to the weaponized room. "Dear lord.., what is all that?" Eva's mom said. She and David were visibly pale, possibly stomaching the true reality of what they were seeing.

"Get on with it then!" said the sixties-age woman, "I'm getting too old for all this running!" "Right, muttered Frank, releasing Henry's hand and dashing to a nearby weapons rack. Looking down on a shelf, Frank noticed a box of Greek fire tapered with warning labels. _Perfect, _he thought. His eyes gazed to some bows and quivers of arrows teetering on top of the shelf. Grabbing a bow and quiver, and the box of Greek fire, Frank lugged it all back toward the waiting mortals.

"Eva, I need a favor," Frank begged. "Anything, Frank," stated Eva. "Hold this box, and PLEASE don't drop it, it's highly flammable," warned Frank. Eva paled again at the mention of holding something boom-boomable. Frank slung the quiver over his back, and tested the strength of the bow. Eva hefted the box over her shoulder, sharing the weight with her father.

Just then, more of these yellow men decided to spill into the highly-explosive room. "KILL THEM!" howled the apparent leader, signified by wearing a red headband. In less than a second, Frank slung an arrow, firing it at the said leader. Howling in agony, the redband idiot dissolved into monster dust. With a battle cry, over fifty of these four-armed freaks charged at Frank.

Frank grabbed three arrows out of his quiver, slinging them and firing a volley. _Thwack thwack thwack._ Frank supposed Tartarus just got three more boarding members. Throwing down his bow, Frank did a guttural growl, leaping in the air and transforming once more. Thoughts clouded in his mind as he felt his skin turn into a wrinkly mess. He smiled as he morphed into his favorite creature of all. A long trunk elongated from his nose, and his skin turned gray.

With a trumpet, Frank the elephant charged. Dirty men squealed as he trampled them underfoot. One of them made the mistake of getting too close, and Frank slammed his trunk, throwing the man into a weapons rack. A visible clatter could be heard as the rack smashed into others, spilling onto the ground. Frank could hear an explosion, for some random reason. Gazing to check on Eva, what she was doing made Frank proud. The girl was taking vials of Greek fire, and chucking them at any of those tramps who came close. Surprisingly enough, even Henry and his parents were helping, throwing wood, metal, and whatever they could get their hands on.

"_Loamaes,_ fall back!" screeched one of the remaining creatures. Frank elicited a surprise, these things were called _loamae? _Snatching up another loamae by it's bottom-left arm, Frank swung it hard against a wall. It screamed as a visible _crack_ was heard, and Frank hurtled it toward the apparent-new-boss. Both of those vagrants erupted into a pile of dust, spilling into some grates below the floor. The sixties woman was hanging back, resting calmly in a corner.

Jumping off his hind legs, Frank the elephant morphed back into a teenager, sliding on the floor for his bow. Gripping the bow and sluicing out an arrow, Frank flipped around and fired. One of the last remaining _loamaes_ received the arrow's end, and vanished into nothingness. The three stragglers who still remained received an arrow each to the chest. Soon, there was nothing but monster dust filling up the room, and flickering traces of Greek fire still burning.

Okay, that was pretty cool. Frank was pretty sure he hadn't done a battle like that with mortals before. Gasping and panting, he turned toward Eva and her close family. "That..., was..., EPIC!" boasted Eva, gripping a vial of Greek fire in each of her hands. "For a mortal, you did alright," smiled Frank, pulling up his bow. "If I may, is that supposed to be burning?" Eva's father asked, looking frazzled, and pointing toward some nearby Greek fire.

Frank didn't know what the fuss was, until he saw what the fire was doing. One of the celestial-bronze topped missiles was burning, and the fuse was sparking. With horror, he realized it was about to detonate. Frantically looking at the elevator, and back toward his own position, the only think Frank could think about was whether if he and the others could get out in time. Unfortunately, the missile was going to answer that for him.

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	23. XXIII: Frank

**Hey guys! My writer's block is finally lifted, thank goodness... So, I've planned out the first half of the book completely, all the way to chapter 36. I have an exact idea what will happen, so no shortage of ideas will be coming... So cheer for that! We're almost done with Frank, completing 6/9 of the narrators! That's right, after Chapter 36, the narrators will be reset all the way back to Annabeth, till the book is concluded. Like I said, everyone tells twice, as I promised!**

**Reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Thanks! I'm happy my story elicts alot of gushing from you. The fact that Frank could be Percabeth's child is interesting to think about.. And mildly disturbing... Cause Frank is just... Well... Frank. Ah well! And before you ask, the wrapping conclusion will be coming next chapter, rest assured, since 3/4 of Frank's chapters were all actiony and involving him doing stuff. Getting a 2DS would be sweet, and cool if you could! Pokemon needs to announce the next main games already... They're taking too long... Grah!**

**Creativestorywriter: Thanks! I pride myself on having at least 'acceptable' grammar, because that's what professionalism is all about. I'm learning much more grammar though, and will have to edit some past chapters that have mistakes in them. By the time this book is done, chapters will be improved and combed through for grammar. I'm happy you enjoy this!**

**Hercules: Yes, poor Frank... He really does hate flying... Maybe with Festus? Perhaps you'll find out! Well, have fun with the next chapter! hope to see you soon!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "I have got to legalize the copyright" Riordian.**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XXIII: Frank**

**Frank felt like he was** **having a mid-life crisis. **Well, he probably wouldn't even make it to middle-age if that missile went off in the next minute. "We're SO screwed..," Eva said bluntly. The only thing Frank could think was: _well duh!_ "Mister Frank, can't you stop it?" asked Henry. At that moment, Frank felt helpless. Stopping the missile was out of the question. And even if he could stop the burning, the Greek fire was also spreading to other flammable weapons.

The worst part? The rest of Eva's family would most likely die, considering that they were still in the lockup room. Frank couldn't take it. No, he couldn't deal with having the deaths of at least a dozen people on his conscience. _Tick tick tick. _Frank felt himself sweat as the fuse edged ever so closer to detonation. "Frank, can we even stop this?" questioned Eva, holding Henry tight to her. David and his wife were hugging each other tightly, probably doing a silent prayer. "I-I don't know, gimme a second, " stammered Frank, gazing around the room. If he could find anything, anything at all that could work... Man, talk about working under pressure! Frank wished that a miracle could happen at this moment.

_Ding!_ A loud elevator bell almost made Frank have a heart attack. "Hey, Frank!" yelled a familiar voice that made Frank's heart leap in joy. Jerking toward the elevator at the end of the war-room, Frank could see Leo and Calypso emerging from it, dragging an unconscious _loamae_ between their arms. "There you are!" shouted Calypso, letting go of the _loamae_, and running over to Frank. "Hey!" protested Leo, collapsing to the ground; the _loamae's_ weight toppling on him like a sack of potatoes.

"Calypso!" Frank said. "What happened? How the heck did you find us?!" "Oh, well, when you didn't show up at the rendezvous, I decided to do a little investigating of my own... Found this guy over there," shrugged Calypso, pointing to the unconscious _loamae._ "Um, question, why is he unconscious?" Frank nervously asked. "This guy? Oh, I just interrogated him on where you were... Then I killed him..." muttered Calypso. Frank's eyes bulged. So the monster dude was dead?! He wasn't going to ask, but he was pretty curious about why the _loamae_ didn't disintegrate yet.

That, and Calypso was making him more and more nervous. Knife throwing, jumping from dragons, brutally murdering monsters... Just what else could this girl do?! Though, it was kind of impressive. Frank didn't know many girls who could do that. Well, besides like 80% of the demigod girl population. _Gods.., _why couldn't this quest be done with already?!

"I don't wanna be a bummer or something," Leo began, throwing the _loamae_ to the side, "But is that a super-awesome burning missile about-to-detonate-that-I-see?" Frank internally groaned at that moment. Same old Leo... "Basically, yes," said Frank, "Stopping it would be like helpful and stuff... And I would really rather not die right now..." "Of course we don't want to die!" exclaimed Leo, "I did once, and it sucked!"

"Who the heck are you people?!" interrupted David, clutching his wife by his side. For a moment, Frank forgot about Eva and her family. That, and they were completely silent during the whole exchange. "I could say the same for you," Calypso said, stepping toward David. "Dad...," warned Eva, putting her right hand against her father's chest. Along with Calypso's glare, David withered away in shame.

"Calypso, there's something you should know..." Frank sighed. "I have at least a dozen people in a room back there that's going to go down if the bomb blows..." With that, Calypso's eyes widened. "How the heck did that happen?" "You tell me, I got knocked out and got stuffed in a room with those people!" exclaimed Frank, gesturing with his hands to Eva and the others.

"We can't just let all these super-nice people die!" Leo screamed, waving his hands around. Frank blinked, "They called me a freak..." "On the other hand, let's go boom boom!" smiled Leo. "Leo! We're not that heartless!" yelled Calypso, smacking Leo on the back of the head. "OW!" Leo muttered. "Calypso, can you think of anything... We're running out of time!" Frank gasped, getting all panicky.

"Actually, I guess there's a favor that I could pull in," sighed Calypso. "Da wha?" Frank asked, momentarily confused. How the heck could Calypso have a favor that could save the others? In response, Calypso pulled out a red slip of paper from her left jean pocket. "Ohhh," butted in Leo, "You're using THAT favor?!" "Why are we even passing favors, and where the heck did you get that?" questioned Frank, gesturing to the paper. "Oh, it's just a promise from a quest we did for a god about a year or so ago," shrugged Calypso, "He said ripping it would alert him or something..." Frank momentarily blinked at that. "Well, are we doing this already?!" exclaimed Leo. "I'm a genius engineer, and even I can tell she gonna's blow!"

With a grunt, Calypso ripped apart the red paper. Frank expected a magical god to come out and do a conga dance. Sadly, it didn't happen. What did happen, though, was gold dust dissolving away from the paper, and drifting up to the ceiling. The scene reminded Frank of his meeting with his ancestors, two years ago, in Pylos. He never told the rest of the Seven about that, but there were a few things there that he wanted to unsee.

A rumble shook the room, vibrating underneath Frank's feet. "W-what is that?" stammered Henry, staying close to Eva. Frank saw Henry's father stifle a growl, before his face went neutral. Hm, very interesting... Jealously maybe? Frank's thoughts were interrupted by Calypso's orders. "Okay, everyone out! That's our cue!" "But what about the rest of my family?!" stated Eva's mother, who was silent this entire time. "Trust me, my little favor will take care of it, he will... Hopefully..."

_AWOOOOWWWW! _A loud screech rang through the room, making Frank cover his ears. "By my awesome Hephaestusness, that's the detonation bell!" Leo screamed, starting to run for the elevator. "Go, go go!" Calypso boomed, shooing Eva and the others toward the elevator. Gazing back, Frank saw the sixties woman still in the corner, a smile playing on her lips.

Frank felt confused. Especially since she just vanished right in front of him. What the heck? And the way Eva and the others were running, they must have forgotten about her. Weird... The groan of the cavern stopped Frank from thinking further, and he bolted for the elevator. Calypso was stuffing the family inside, and Leo was already squeezed in. The roof shook, and shards of metal started crashing down onto the floor.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Frank visualized _speed._ His skin changed to yellow fur. Black spots popped up on his body, and long legs elongated from his belly. He was wild. He was a cheetah. "So cool!" yelled Henry, from the elevator confines. Frank grinned, and put on a burst of speed. The steel trusses began collapsing behind him, and the detonating missile started falling toward the ground. Taking a final leap, Frank morphed back into human form, and jumped through the now-closing elevator door.

Calypso elicted an _oopmh_ as Frank collapsed on top of her. "Hey, hands off my girlfriend!" Leo said, prying Calypso off from the ground. "S-sorry," stammered Frank, with a visible blush on his face. He was trying to keep his distance anyway. "Ah, it's all good, everyone wants to be Calypso anyway!" Leo grinned. With a roll of her eyes, Calypso mashed the _up_ button on the elevator. Frank felt his stomach lurch as the car shot up.

"Frank, you'll never believe where we found this spot," said Calypso, "Apparently, this whole thing was underground of the courthouse in this city.." Frank blinked. Well, that was a weird spot for a super-secret underground lair. A blowy-uppy missile war room was _totally_ the best place for politics! "Security was tight, Calypso had to knock out ten guards just to gain access..." muttered Leo.

"Leo... Didn't you say you were wearing the pants in the relationship?" Frank asked. Calypso chose to glare at Leo at that moment. "Uh, when did I ever say that?" chuckled Leo. "Three days ago, remember? You were all like, I'm a _boss_ and stuff?" Frank stated. "Um, I don't remember..." Leo nervously said. Yanking Leo by the ear, "We're having a talk later," growled Calypso. Frank internally smirked. Here was some revenge! Sure, it was subtle, but Frank really wasn't going to let it slide that Leo was alive for two years and never bothered to tell anybody.

"Is there a couple-dynamic relationship here I don't know about?" piped up Eva, previously silent. Frank saw Henry, David, and the mom all staring at the conversation with wide-open mouths. "Ah, it's a story you mortals don't know about..." smiled Calypso. "Can you tell us?!" exclaimed Eva. "No.." flatly said Calypso. Eva seemed to deflate at the news, sinking back towards the cold elevator wall.

For two minutes, awkward silence descended upon the group. A tune started playing, to the overture of _Vegas._ Frank groaned. Was every elevator in the universe used to playing him horrible tunes? This reminded Frank of the time Percy and Annabeth told him about their one-way trip up the Doors of Death. Huh, this was actually similar to the whole debacle. Minus the dark-god trying to kill them thing, of course.

Besides that, Percy and Annabeth were doing pretty okay. Not that Frank didn't see _too_ much of them until recently, due to all that 3,000-mile distance between the camps and his praetorship duties. Just the occasional flashback from the couple, but nothing too severe. Frank thanked Mars that they weren't too scarred from their experience with _hel__l_ itself.

A loud _screeechhh_ jarred Frank out of his thoughts, as the elevator bell rang with a _ding!_ "That's our cue!" yelled Calypso, taking out a wicked dagger strapped to her right thigh. With a tug, David jumped out of the elevator first, dragging Henry along with a nervous look on his face. Herding Eva ahead of him, Frank gazed around for any threats. Nope, nothing. Leo and Calypso ventured out last, taking the rear.

A nauseous thought crossed Frank's mind. "Hey, guys," he said, "Is that missile far enough underground to not, I don't know, blow us all up?!" "Uh, I don't know..." shrugged Calypso. "Well, let's hope for the best!" grinned Leo. "So you took a possible risk, knowing that we all might die?" Eva asked, keeping her eyes peeled. Well, Frank hoped Eva was going to learn fast. The life of a demigod amounted to that every day. "Get used to it, life won't wait for you," Calypso said bluntly. Unfortunately, a muffled _boom _ interrupted the conversation.

The floor groaned under Frank, and settled. "There's our boom!" Leo said. "Please... I hope my Aunt Emmaline will be fine..." mumbled Eva. Calypso patted Eva on the back. "Don't worry, my friend should take care of it... They'll be back at New Athens in no time!" "Wait, whoever it is, is taking them to New Athens?" elicited a surprised Frank.

"Mortals... Calypso, are you sure this is a good idea?" Leo questioned. "In case you hadn't noticed, not your best plan..." "Well, it's not like I have all day to organize a family reunion! We have a quest to handle!" Frank thought that was a good point. But still... He hoped that the gods would understand, and hopefully not vaporize any of the incoming family. And _hopefully_ was a strong word...

Looking around for the first time, Frank noticed the interior of the courthouse. Marble floors were laid out in front of him, and discolored stone bricks formed the walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting an illuminating glow. The bright windows flooded out, immersing the daylight in Frank's eyes. Well, at least it was daytime... Wait, how long was he down there, anyway? "Hey, Calypso, how long was I down there?" Frank asked. "Well, it took us six hours to find you... So, nine hours is my guess?"

Phew, talk about a short abduction. Frank heard about ones that took weeks, months, and even years. "Entrance is over there," said Calypso, jerking her head to a glass door about forty feet in front of Frank. Immediately, David plucked Henry off the ground, and put him over his shoulders. Grabbing a hold of his wife, he bolted for the exit. "Bye, Mister Frank!" cried Henry. "Hey, wait!" Frank shouted.

"Frank, just let them go," moaned Calypso, putting an arm on his chest. "Huh, they remind me of this foster lady I had once. Ditched me first chance she got..." sighed Leo. Only Eva remained. "I always knew my father was a dirtbag," she muttered. "If it helps. my dad was kind of like one too," said Calypso. "Really? Who was he?" "Oh, just the all-mighty Atlas, bearer of the sky, general of the Titan army, and a bunch of other stuff," Calypso shrugged. Eva turned pale at that mention.

"I may not know a lot, but isn't that from Greek mythology?" "Yup, that's justttt right!" Leo enunciated, swagging around to Eva. "You have a lot to learn, so I'm going to give ya a crash course!" Leo, a teacher? Frank laughed at that thought. In fact, he would rather be a fish for life than be stuck in a classroom with Leo as the teacher.

"Bottom line is this: the Greek and Roman gods are real, and you can see them," blurted out Leo. Eva blinked, and started laughing. Frank barely stifled a smile. This was Stage One of discovering the immortals' existence. First came denial. Then a bunch of other stuff. Anyway, Leo was kind of blunt... Wow, way to rip off a band-aid... "Leo, you could have given it some time!" exclaimed Calypso.

Momentarily, Eva stopped laughing. Gazing at the serious faces of Frank and the others, she turned even whiter. "You're not joking, are you?" "Nopeeee," slurred Leo. "Eva, I know this is a lot to take in," began Frank, "But rest assured, we're here for you..." "Can we be 'here' sooner? We have a quest to finish," Calypso sighed. "Wait, b-but..." stammered Eva.

"Listen, we're going to have to take you with us," Calypso said soothingly. "We don't want to put you in danger or anything... You're safer with us..." "O-okay, but you will explain _everything!"_ Calypso nodded. "Of course, after we get you strapped to our magical, fire-breathing dragon. At that moment, Eva fainted, and hit the ground with a _thud._ "Eva!" Frank exclaimed, rushing over to her. "Great, way to go Sunshine, you made a mortal faint!" exclaimed Leo, slowly clapping. "Seriously, Calypso, wasn't that a bit much?" stated Frank.

"Hey, I just say the facts like it is," huffed Calypso. "Now, can we get a move on already? Leo and I spent half the time disabling the catapults, and I don't want to have to do this again!" "So, out of those six hours you spent looking for me, three were spent on the catapults?" Frank asked. "Hey, tracking them down was hard enough as it is..."

Frank did a mental shrug, and hoisted Eva up on his back. Leo reached to help, taking the left side of her body. Walking ahead, Calypso opened the door for Frank, gesturing him into the street outside. With a dragging groan, Frank emerged through, and the rays of sunlight blared in his face. The roaring streets of Jefferson City greeted him, with cars honking past.

Slumping down, Leo wheezed. "Geez, for a teenage girl, she's heavy!" "Leo, you and I both know your muscle strength is pathetic," smirked Calypso, clinking the door. "That's not what you said three weeks ago, when we did that _thing_," smirked Leo, waggling his eyebrows. Frank felt his cheeks rise in heated embarrassment. He didn't want to know what happened back then. "Uh, so, what now?" he asked, lowering Eva down to a nearby sidewalk. In response, Calypso did a sharp taxicab whistle that made Frank clutch his ears. A familiar roar resonated throughout the streets, even across the sound of many cars. Festus the dragon blasted from the sky, near a junction, and dived toward Frank.

Out of hundreds of mortals walking nearby, nearly half of them gave screams of terror, and started running away. Some even picked up their kids, sheltering them. "That's my boy!" roared Leo, spreading his arms wide. "There's really something wrong now..." frowned Calypso, skittering around nervously. Another hiss from Festus interrupted her, as the dragon landed like an Airbus A380. Wow, that was a random thought. Even though Frank didn't have ADHD, he admitted it was weird.

"Hey, stop that dragon!" interrupted a new voice. Further down the street, Frank could see two police officers running toward them, with a gun adorned in both of their hands. "This is beary, beary bad..." muttered Leo. "Leo, I don't have time for your puns! Help me get her on!" shouted Calypso, trying to pull an unconscious Eva onto Festus. Immediately, Frank ran over and helped push Eva's lower body onto Festus' back.

Carrying an unconscious girl was hard. Trying to load one on a dragon with two police officers screaming bloody murder was harder. "Let's roll!" ordered Calypso, securing Eva and throwing herself over Festus' upper back. "Hey, that's my seat!" Leo exclaimed, waving his hands like nuts. "Come on Leo!" growled Frank, shoving him directly behind Calypso. Pulling himself up on the dragon, Frank slapped Festus' right leg.

That got the dragon's attention, and Festus shot up into the blue sky, bellowing fire. Looking below, Frank saw some mortals pulling out their phones, and taking videos. He hoped that this wasn't going to come back to haunt them later. "I hope the rest of this goes smoothly!" yelled Calypso, tugging Festus' reins. Frank hoped that would happen too. He would appreciate some non-fussing right now.

Of course, Frank felt that he wasn't complaining too much. Besides, being kidnapped, stuffed in a dinky room, and then fighting monsters in a room full of armed _boom-boom_ missiles should warrant some slack. Eva swayed in the breeze, her head still lolling in unconsciousness. "Well, someone's gonna have to explain the whole story when she wakes up...," Leo stated.

Clouds blasted into Frank's face as Festus pulled above the cloud layer, into a glide. "And I won't be it!" finished Leo. "Not it!" butted in Calypso. Frank sighed. Just great. Now he was stuck on "explain-the-existence-of-the-magical-Greek-and-Roman-world-to-an-oblivious-mortal" duty. This should be fun. Festus banked to the northwest, whipping some wind in Frank's face.

"So... Frank, I'm guessing you still want to know why you're on this quest?" asked Calypso, raising her eyebrows. Frank nodded. A nice explanation would be helpful. "Well, we can have a nice chat once your little friend wakes up, but for now..." "Yeah?" questioned Frank. Calypso smiled, and pulled out a bag from Festus' right compartment. "Want some Burger King before we do this?"

Frank facepalmed at that moment. Just freaking-deaking great!

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	24. XXIV: Frank

**Hey guys! Next chapter is up for ya! I am now on spring break, and am able to do a chapter just about every day. I may not post them every day though, but I will be getting quite a bit done.**

**Reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Thanks for the review! Question: should I make a chapter every day for spring break, or should I go back or reedit some of the chapters that I was intending to, but update with less new chapters? I know I said that I would be doing those edits when Book One was almost done, but I'm just not really sure, xD. There are some backstory stuff from Blood of Olympus that I have to add to clear stuff up, like the Delphi thing, and why the prophecy came through, etc. Just can't decide whether to do it now or near the end of the book. Hope to see a longer review from ya this time! No problem about the rush, we all get them occasionally :P. **

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "Why can't there be a third sequel?!" Riordian.**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XXIV: Frank**

**Frank had to admit that the burger was good.** He happily munched away on a half-pounder, while Calypso ate a salad, and Leo wolfed down some french fries. There really wasn't anything better than eating junk food on a fire-breathing dragon with a unconscious mortal dangling in the back. "Mamma mia, sooo good..." moaned Leo, shoving another fistful of fries down his mouth.

"Leo, don't eat so fast, you'll choke!" scolded Calypso, daintily taking another bite out of her salad. Frank had no idea how Calypso was doing it, considering that the wind gust was blowing in her face. The reins laid slack, as Festus propelled himself throughout the air. The built-in speakers on the dragon was playing to the tune of _Beach Boys_, though Frank had no idea why the heck it was doing that.

Frank's thoughts were interrupted as Festus began a banking turn, starting to point to the northeast. "Leo, what's going on...?" asked a puzzled Frank. He thought they were going to Mount Tam to talk to Atlas, but apparently not. "In case you hadn't remembered, Reyna wants you to check on Camp Jupiter, remember?" butted in Calypso. "Ahaha, a praetor forgetting his all-powerful camp?" cackled Leo, slurping down a smoothie. "Shut up," muttered Frank. That, and he was a little embarrassed... But hey, being thrown in an air vortex and escaping a jail full of weapons took a lot off someone's mind.

"Second thing, Frank, if you came with us, it could convince my dad to do a little talking," Calypso explained. "B-but wha? How the heck would I get the bearer of the sky itself talking?!" stammered Frank. "Your linage, the blood of Pylos... My dad would respect that. He's big on the legacy and shape-gift thing," said Calypso.

"Oh, you should also know about those catapults!" she added. "Weird thing, when we found them, they had this symbol stamped on the wheels... It was kinda weird. There was a cloud, with lighting, stars, and that sort of thing..." That symbol description piqued Frank's interest. He never heard of something like that before. Maybe some sort of production facility mark?

"So, anyway, after knocking out these guards, and interrogating the heck out of them, they wouldn't tell us who set up that trap..." sighed Calypso. "But at least they told us where you were. And while you were having a lovely time, Leo here _forced_ me to get some Burger King for you... But apparently, we all know why he wanted it..." At that moment, Calypso gestured to a moaning Leo, stuffed with fries. "But anyway, first, we're going to visit your camp and get it over and done with already..."

"Right, right, got it..." grumbled Frank. Finishing off his burger, he put the wrapper leftovers in one of Festus' compartments. The dragon creaked in Morse code, possibly out of happiness. Could dragons be happy? Probably. The cool air blew around Frank's face, making his eyes water. He had no idea how Leo and Calypso spent the last two years up here. Um, some of the time, maybe? Frank chose at this time to think about a few things.

Frank made a checklist for his inspection of Camp Jupiter. Well, more mentally, sort of. He had to get all the _auxiliary_ forces sorted out, set up rotation shift duties, and so forth. No doubt that New Rome was in chaos after half their populace vanished, and the disappearance of their praetors. Sure, some of the centurions promised to keep order, but with himself and Reyna gone, Frank had his doubts. Praetorship was a huge responsibility, weighing down on him like a bucket of bricks. He had no idea how Reyna did it alone for so long.

Being praetor gave Frank a sense of massive responsibility. He had to admit that he was less of a klutz than in the past. His self-esteem did increase a little bit too. And it certainly wasn't just because of Hazel's continuous showering of affection. Um, maybe it was a _considerable_ amount. Frank did admit that he 'bent' the rules a little bit about a centurion dating a praetor. Eh, it was a stupid rule anyway. Though, Hazel being centurion of the Fifth Cohort was great.

Reflecting in his thoughts, Frank remembered the talk he had with his dad, Mars, a few days ago back at New Athens.

_"Listen, kiddo, I can't promise you anything, but your role in this prophecy will be significant. I can see it, you will be a catalyst..." Mars had said. "But Dad, I'm just... well... me!" exclaimed Frank. "And not to be alecky or anything, but we just did another big prophecy two years ago!" "The Fates work in mysterious ways, you know that," grumbled Mars, "And they creep me out, in all honesty... Just... don't tell anyone..."_

Just great, an awesome father-son bonding time filled with prophecies and death. Though Frank didn't have much time with Mars before he had to go on this quest. At least Clarisse was taking advantage of the whole gods-being-able-to-visit thing. The last thing Frank remembered before he left was her and Mars running some spears through practice dummies. Talk about queasy...

Frank's thoughts were interrupted by the muffled grunting of Leo. "H-hey, Calypso," murmured Leo, with food stuffed in his mouth, "Casnnn youuu giv mee some morrre of thoose frries?" Okay, so apparently Leo talked like he was drunk... Frank made a mental note for later. "You'll get fat on these things Leo," groaned Calypso, handing him another bucket of fries. "So, anyway, any idea when your friend is getting up?" she questioned.

At that moment, Eva began to stir, shifting in her seat position in front of Frank. "W-wha?" she muttered, as her consciousness started drifting awake. "You alright, Eva?" asked Frank, concerned for her safety. "Wait... Wha?!" she exclaimed, waving her arms around. "Where the heck am I? Are we in the sky?!" "Calm down, you'll make Festus grumpy," muttered Leo. Eva decided to start screaming at that moment. "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?! WHAT AM I DOING ON A DRAGON?!" Frank's ears almost blew. That girl could yell like a muse...

"Dear gods, can you shut the heck up?!" yelled Calypso. "Can't you see I'm trying to eat a perfectly good salad?!" "WELL, IF YOU WOULD EXPLAIN WHY WE'RE THOUSANDS OF FEET IN THE AIR, MAYBE I WOULD BE HAPPY TO!" Eva screamed. "THIS IS FESTUS, HE'S AN AWESOME DRAGON, AND I REBUILT HIM MYSELF!" butted in Leo, yelling like a lunatic. Frank shot Leo a glare: _da heck man?_ Leo chuckled, "Uh, I thought we were switching to screaming like idiots now... Am I right?"

"Shut up!" yelled Frank, Calypso, and Eva in perfect synchronization. With that, the son of Hephaestus resumed eating his fries. "Okay, Eva, take a deep breath," began Frank. "How can I take a deep breath when we're high enough to barely breathe?!" Eva yelled. "Well, you can still breathe, so... yeah..." Frank said, trying to alleviate the situation. "Okay, okay, okay," gasped Eva, taking short breaths.

"You know, I really think you should explain... now!" she stated, whirling around to face Frank. "Hey, add the part about my awesomeness as Supreme Commander of the Argo II!" boasted Leo, in between his takes of a third bag of fries. Frank had no idea how Leo wasn't fat by now. Running away from bloodthirsty monsters probably helped.

"First, I think you should know we're heading to this camp, where I'm the leader..." Frank muttered. "But you're like... what... twenty?" Eva stated. Frank nearly choked in surprise. "Ha, Zhang, twenty?!" laughed Leo. "Technically, I'm seventeen..." grumbled Frank. "But you're too young to possibly lead a camp!" said Eva. The mortal looked leery of this weird situation.

"The rules are different in the world of gods!" singsonged Calypso, finishing off her salad and throwing it in Festus' compartment, in which Frank decided to dub it the "All-Powerful Trash Bin." Oh, the powerful and painful process of acclimating mortals to the era of the Olympians... Good thing the brochure on that was going to come out next week. Frank had a mental brain freeze, as he remembered that they _did_ get some early copies...

Patting down Festus' back storage space, Frank pulled out some of those brochures. Picking one up, he tapped Eva. "Hey, Eva, here, read this," ordered Frank, gesturing to the brochure. The title said: _A Guide to the Super-Awesome World of Greek and Roman Gods, and How to Deal with Them! _ Okay, the title was a bit much, but hopefully the information would make up for that.

"You take your time and read this," gently said Frank, patting Eva on the back. "Um, okay?" she nervously said, opening the brochure. "Oh boy," sighed Calypso, grabbing Festus' reins. ""Hey! He doesn't like to be manhandled..." moaned Leo. With that, Calypso elbowed Leo in the gut, making him groan in pain. So apparently, this was the girl Leo died for... Nice to know...

A shudder ripped through the dragon, making Frank almost lose his footing. Eva shrieked, losing her grip on the brochure. "What the heck?! I was on the part about Apollo!" she grunted. Frank prayed to the dear gods that Apollo didn't put too much about himself in there. "What the-" began Calypso, trying to keep Festus under control. The wind howled, picking up speed. Frank felt himself starting to black out under the roar of the wind. "Wha-" groaned Eva, before throwing up all over Leo. "AHWAH!" yelled the son of Hephaestus. "This would be funny karma right now, if it wasn't for this crazy stuff!" Calypso yelled, struggling to keep the dragon under order.

"I'm pretty sure it's not the vomit, but am I..." yawned Leo, collapsing on Calypso's back. Frank felt himself struggling to stay awake, and he could see Eva falling asleep in front of him, on her own vomit. Calypso succumbed to sleep, and Festus started to lean forward, losing altitude. Frank's body felt like lead to him, as he tried to retain a form of control. Black spots danced in his eyes, as he fell asleep too.

_"Awake..."_ whispered a voice. That was the first thing Frank heard as his eyes opened. He was sure that he was in a dream, with the fluffy clouds and whatnot. Frank was standing on a five-foot long black hole, with white twister clouds all around him. There was nothing else. Just pure white. _"So long... Pain and suffering..."_ the voice growled. The only thing Frank could make out was that it sounded distinctly male. _"You have no idea... How GOOD it feels..." _it sighed. "Who are you?!" Frank growled, trying to keep his composure. _  
_

"_Meee? Oh, not much, I assure you. Well, not now... But maybe in the future, I will become so very much more, son of Mars..." _it hissed. _"Even now, such a weakness permits me a very limited visit..."_ "Um, okay?" questioned Frank. This voice dude was getting really creepy. That, and rhetoric riddles didn't really sit with Frank all that well.

_"So much for me to explore... Yes, this will be very, very interesting... Sadly, such little of my consciousness is active..."_ murmured the male. Frank got the creepy feeling that he was being watched. "What are you doing here? Why me?" inquired Frank. The more Frank could find out about his enemy, the better it could benefit for everyone else. The sadistic thing was that the situation felt so eerily similar to Gaea's...

The voice laughed. _"Oh, little demigod... You will find out soon enough. You should be honored... You're the first for me to try out my mind once more..." _Well, great! Frank was pretty sure that no weird thingies ever offered to try out brainpower for the first time with him. _"Ah, I'll leave you now... Though I would keep a close eye on Atlas' daughter... That disgusting scum..." _it spat. Frank grit his teeth. "Hey, Calypso's my friend!"

_"How little you know, small one,"_ it crooned. _"Farewell, for now..."_ "Don't you da-" Frank started, only to be struck with a feeling of nausea. The clouds started swirling even faster, racing into Frank like a train. Frank felt a moment of claustrophobia as he was engulfed into a cocoon of clouds. The next time he opened his eyes, Frank was back on Festus, in the land of reality. At that moment, Calypso, Eva, and Leo all shot up from their slumber, gasping for breath. "Holy Hephaestus, what was that?!" Leo exclaimed, patting himself down.

Eva didn't look good, considering that she was bathed in her own puke. Calypso was even worse, looking like she had been violently ill. Frank gazed at everyone with the same thing on all their minds: _what in the name of the gods was going on?_ "Aw man!" exclaimed Leo, breaking the silence, "Now I have puke all over me!" Well, at least something good came out of that dream-state.

"Guys, I-I don't," groaned Calypso, clutching her stomach. Festus clicked out of worry, apparently gliding normally again. Frank didn't notice until now, but the dragon seemed to be perfectly fine. "Come on Sunshine, just trade places," coaxed Leo, grabbing the reins. Calypso could only nod, switching spots with Leo at the front. Frank wondered what happened in Calypso's dream that made her so violently ill.

"That was so weird..." butted in Eva. "Did any of you hear a male guy or something?" Everyone, including Frank, nodded. "I think you just got your first telepathic visit from an immortal..." said Calypso, "There's not many other things that can do that..." "I didn't think stuff like that could be so disorientating," groaned Frank. "It feels like my head got pounded by a sledgehammer!"

"Can someone tell me why it's sunset already?" Eva asked, pointing to a glowing orange sun. "You know immortals, dreams, and time... They don't mix!" Leo said cheerfully, giving Festus' reins a shake. "Leo's right," stated Calypso, "Time in dreams are way different from the mortal world..." Frank was pretty sure that lesson was directed toward Eva, considering that it was totally obvious to him already.

"So... Anyone hear anything interesting?" Frank questioned. "I don't want to talk about it..." muttered Calypso, only managing a half-smile. "The creepy guy kept saying how he would become 'more' in the future or something," said Eva. "Sounds like the same dream I had," Leo cut in. Well, it looked like that the others had the same dream as Frank did. Except Calypso, since she didn't seem to want to talk about it. Frank wondered what that was all about. "Anyway, before we go on, I feel _icky_," enunciated Eva, gesturing to the vomit on her and Leo's clothes.

"I'm sure I can get some new clothes for you at Camp Jupiter," smiled Frank. "Shouldn't be all that bad, hopefully..." "Frank, I NEED an organic muffin while we're at it," Calypso said. "Pst, listen to the lady, she needs her muffin," Leo suggested. Yeah, as if that wasn't obvious enough already. Frank was sure everyone needed a break, considering that for the last day, they were dragged in sweaty and dirty conditions.

"Are you taking this well, Eva?" ventured Frank. "Well, at least I know I'm not crazy," she shrugged, "So I guess it's okay... Just a little hard for me to wrap my head around... Can I have another brochure, by the way?"

Frank grabbed another brochure from the compartment, and handed it to Eva. Good thing he asked Chiron to stack a dozen copies before they left... Surprisingly enough, it did come in handy in this situation. Eva opened the brochure again, turning back to where she left off.

"Ah, hey hey!" exclaimed Leo, pointing to something in the distance. Craning his head, Frank smiled when he realized what was ahead. The familiar hills of Camp Jupiter greeted him on the horizon. Normally, they shouldn't have gotten there that fast, but Frank guessed that being unconscious for a while did have its benefits. At least Camp Jupiter was going to be a great place for everyone to recharge their batteries... Ironically enough, Frank's camp just so happened to be... what... not far from Mount Tam? Wow, going cross-country proved to be absolutely useless.

"Can Eva even come in there?" asked Calypso, looking slightly better. "Um, maybe?" said Frank, trying his best not to make it look like a question. "Well, I sure hope she can, unless we want her to become a vaporized crisp," Calypso shrugged. "Hey, no no, I don't want to be a crisp!" yelled Eva, looking slightly panicked. "Relax, I'll just lower the barriers for mortals, shouldn't be too hard... Hopefully..." stammered Frank.

From high up in the air, a view of the Little Tiber reached Frank's eyes. "Whoa, what's that?" Eva questioned, pointing to the river. "The Little Tiber, gateway to New Rome," proudly said Frank. "Ah, yes, says here in the brochure, New Rome's like the number two place to visit, besides New Athens?" clarified Eva. "Wait, where does it say that?!" growled Frank. "There," gestured Eva, to a section on page two of the brochure. Frank tried to calm himself. He was SO going to have a talk with the brochure-makers later!

A loud shrilling noise made Frank punch himself mentally. "REALLY? This is like the eleventy-thousandth time that something's trying to fire at us in the air!" yelled Leo, gesturing to something emerging from the ground. It looked very much like a catapult... And there were a couple of them coming up... This was going to be fun. "Frankkkkkkk... Do you have an explanation for that?" asked Calypso, who looked like she was doing her best not to strangle Frank.

"Well, funny story. The New Rome Safety Council and I were discussing on better ways to protect the camp... And a fully-automated motion-sensor imperial gold catapult battery system was our best solution..." muttered Frank. "Frank, if we get out of this alive, I'm going to kill you for two reasons: the puke, and now this!" yelled Calypso. "I-I," began Frank, as the first catapult salvo fired.

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**Yup, catapults don't like Frank. I hope you all enjoyed! Read, and REVIEW! I really need some! **


	25. XXV: Reyna

**I'm back with another chapter! I think you guys will like this one, so enjoy! Also, PLEASE review! You guys are really dissapointing me here, with such a lack of feedback on this story. It's a huge project, and I need support. Also, which chapter do you want me to reedit first? I'm starting to comb through previous chapters to add more details, and fix grammar and paragraph errors. Just let me know!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "I read his blog today" Riordian.**

**So, without further ado...**

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**XXV: Reyna**

**Reyna despised school.** Then again, going undercover wasn't always the best thing. "Remind me why we're doing this, again?" growled Nico, stalking the halls of John Dewey High School in the Bronx, along with Reyna. "Nico, you know we're here to find out what's up with the Mist," sighed Reyna. "But I hate school, can't we just send other people?!" complained Nico, "Seriously, was that so hard?"

"I volunteered us, since you said you were so _bored_," Reyna shrugged. "All I wanted was to get out of the meeting that Athena insisted on!" Nico exclaimed, waving his arms around. "Shush, you know we should be taking advantage of the gods being able to visit..." Reyna scolded. As praetor, taking advantage of the situation was essential. More so since Reyna's fellow praetor, Frank, got dragged off on some sort of mini quest. Once again, she found herself shouldering the burden of the legion alone.

But enough with the depressing stuff! Reyna was looking forward to experiencing a regular 'mortal' day. Technically, the real goal was testing out some stuff on the mortals. With reports about the weakening of the Mist coming in every day, it was starting to worry Reyna.

The first problem came when Calypso and Leo were roaming in New York a while earlier, with that mortal crowd chasing after them. The second time was when Jason and his fellow quest members got arrested. Reyna did have to wonder just how Jason managed to get arrested in the first place. It was a good thing that Hermes volunteered to bust them out.

So after all that, and Jules-Albert driving them to school, Reyna and Nico were ready to start their day. Having a close friend like Nico nearby helped Reyna adjust to this awkward situation. The whole quest with the Athena Parthenos, and stopping the war between the camps two years earlier made Reyna feel close to Nico, like a brother. But of course, the whole romance thing wouldn't work out thanks to Aphrodite's warning in Charleston.

Anyway, Reyna was kind of nervous about this mortal concept of _school_. Yes, she knew she was praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, but can't a eighteen-year old girl have some regular teenage problems for once?

"Um, so where was the office again?" asked Nico, breaking the silence. "Down the hall and to the right, I think..." Reyna said. The loud noises of student gossip and chatter filled her ears. The floors of the school were linoleum, as well as that weird carpet tile thingie adorning the ceilings. Crossing her arms, Reyna tried not to strangle the mortal boys who were occasionally giving her wolf whistles, and the sneers of stuck-up girls. "Just let me know when I can strangle them... please..." Nico muttered. "As much as I would like to, you know Chiron and the gods' orders..." growled Reyna.

To make herself feel better, Reyna tried banging against any lockers that came across her path. The pale-red shade of those lockers rattled against her fist. "You look like you're about to murder somebody," pointed out Nico, as the duo rounded a hallway bend. "Well... yeah, since I'm starting to reconsider this entire school thing... _Gods_, are all mortals that perverted?" Reyna stated, gesturing to even more boys eyeing her.

"Oh, hooray! Here's the office!" Nico stated, trying to lighten the situation. Looking forward, the office caught Reyna's vision. The exterior had largely glass windows, and the interior seemed to be quite large. Secretaries were typing away inside, and students were milling around with their books, probably waiting for passes. Opening the door, Nico motioned for Reyna to go through. "Why, thank you Nico!" smiled Reyna.

"Well, my dad told me to start acting more like a gentleman and stuff," sighed Nico. "So, yeah... I've been practicing. You know, having a dad around for a while isn't too bad. I don't like it when he starts getting on my case about manners, though..."

"Well, you know parents; mine aren't around anyway," shot back Reyna, as Nico entered and closed the door behind her. Twenty feet away stood a gray-haired woman at a writing desk. Slowly venturing to the woman, Reyna wondered just how this was going to go. "Um, miss?" she asked. "Yes?" asked the woman, raising her head to gaze at Reyna.

At first glance, the lady looked to be about in her sixties. The odd thing was that Reyna was sure that she had seen that woman somewhere... Eh, it was probably just a coincidence. "Oh, you must be our new students, is that right?" asked the woman. "Yes, my name is Reyna, and this is Nico," she stated, waving a sulking Nico over. "Aw, you two look just cute together..." gushed the lady. "Wha? We're not together!" exclaimed Nico, arousing the gaze of several other people in the office. Reyna immediately groaned. At least Nico said what she was about to say, ignoring the pseudonym.

"Whatever you say, sweetie. Full names?"

Reyna winced at this. She really didn't like giving away her full name, but desperate times called for desperate measures. That, and Reyna wasn't too sure if the Mist was going to be able to give them an adequate fake cover. "Reyna Ramirez-Arellano and Nico di Angelo here, m'am," she said. "Right, right," muttered the woman, typing in something on some sort of database computer.

Reyna hoped the fake IDs that Chiron and the gods whipped up would cover this. Luckily, Mercury... er... Hermes, was great at whipping up that kind of stuff. Apparently, being the god of thieves and trickery had its benefits.

"Right, here's the syllabus!" chirped the lady, handing Reyna and Nico a stack of papers each. Reyna thought that it was going to be a nightmare, considering that the dyslexia would prevent the translation of all her classes. Comparing papers with Nico, Reyna found that the papers were typed in Latin, and Greek for Nico. "Apparently, there's been a special request for those languages to be translated for you," the lady said. "That, and I've got it covered," she said with a wink. Reyna felt her blood freeze.

"You needn't worry son of Hades, I'm a friend..." interrupted the lady, as Nico was reaching for his concealed sword. The woman flickered for an instant, revealing herself to be none other than Hecate, goddess of magic. "M-my lady?" stammered Reyna, as Hecate returned to her disguise. "I'm here for the same reason you are, daughter of Bellona. My magic is weakening, and I have no idea why...

"Yes, but was this really necessary?" hissed Reyna, keeping her voice down so the other mortals couldn't hear. "Wait, does this mean I can go home now?!" butted in Nico. "NO!" both Reyna and Hecate shouted. The milling mortals all jumped with a start, and looked at the trio weirdly. "Well, so much for not attracting attention..." Reyna muttered.

"Ah, well, you know mortals, they'll forget things in an instant!" said Hecate, rubbing her fingernails. Reyna felt inclined to agree, since many mortals she met were nothing but, well, problematic. "If you don't mind my asking, where were you, my lady?" questioned Nico. "Last I saw, you were gone for a day or two..." "Recent events in the west drew my attention, more so toward a particular mortal," sighed Hecate, "Oh, you should know, I saw your fellow Praetor.."

"Frank?!" Reyna exclaimed. "Where is he? Is he okay?" "Besides trying to disarm a celestial-bronze nuclear missile, and about to blow up, he was okay the last time I had a glimpse..." murmured Hecate, lost in thought. Reyna nearly fainted at that mention. She couldn't lose another praetor, not again. "If you're wondering, he should be okay... about... now..." Hecate interrupted, seemingly reading Reyna's thoughts.

"I think you should be getting to your classes; I'll explain later at the meeting tonight," said Hecate. "Wait, we're still having the meeting?!" Nico exclaimed. "Yes, it's obvious, we're tallying all of our observations from recently, remember?" stated Hecate. "I told you Nico, I told you..." sighed Reyna. The son of Hades elicited a snort, looking back down to his syllabus.

"I think this little experiment will be interesting," crooned the goddess of magic. "Good for you, bad for me, my lady," Reyna said. Yup, the joys of being immortal and able to get away with anything. More so since the ancient laws couldn't be upheld.

A bell chimed, making various people in the hall behind Reyna scurry away. "That's the passing bell, you have ten minutes to get to class!" cheerfully said Hecate. "Just remember, I'm still here if you need anything! And please... wish me luck on those ignorant mortals..." "I could say the same," moaned Reyna, nodding her head respectfully.

Reyna felt that she was on pretty good terms with the goddess of magic, considering that she had gotten to know Hecate better over the last few days. The goddess expressed her concern for Lou Ellen on Jason's quest, but Zeus' orders prevented her from interfering. As a leader, Reyna could understand Zeus' burden, trying to lead his fellow immortals. Sure, he seemed like the bad guy, but at least Zeus was trying to prevent too many gods and goddesses from frolicking all over the world, doing whatever they wanted. Even with all of that, the lord of the skies _did_ have to let a few things slide, as evidenced by recent events.

"Let's go, Death Boy!" exclaimed Reyna, dragging Nico by the ear. "Hey, hey! I wasn't done looking at that!" protested the son of Hades, gesturing to the syllabus. Reyna heard Hecate stifle a chuckle, as she pulled Nico back into the school hall.

"Come on Rey... Do we have to do this?" Nico growled. Reyna shot Nico a dark look, "What did I tell you about calling me Rey?" "Uh, to not to?" stammered Nico. "Good boy. Now, according to this, we should be having the same first period, do we not?" questioned Reyna. "Besides the fact we both decided on the same 2D-Art elective, seems like it..." Nico shrugged.

"Hey, sweet cheeks!" hollered a new voice. Abruptly jerking her head, Reyna spotted a male teenager walking up to her. Carefully analyzing the teen, he appeared to be about seventeen years of age-ish, with brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. The teen seemed to be about five feet and ten inches tall. "I sure hope you're talking to that squirrel outside, since I'm pretty sure you're a lunatic," shot back Reyna, holding Nico back with the palm of her right hand.

Reyna didn't want to have to do that, but since the son of Hades was going into all out protect-big-sister mode, it was pretty necessary. "Feisty, I can respect that. Name's Mike, by the way..." ventured the teen, extending out his hand for a handshake. "The name is Reyna, and pleased to meet you too..." she spat. Obviously, it was sarcasm, but Reyna couldn't tell if the teen was buying it or not. "A woman who can stand up for herself... I respect that..." drawled Mike. "It's not like she couldn't in the first place!" sneered Nico.

"Nico, why don't you head to class? I'm sure it's in Room 27A..." Reyna suggested. "Fine, but be careful..." grumbled Nico, stalking down the hall. "Does he have problems or something?" asked Mike. "My friend and I are none of your business!" growled Reyna, starting to walk in the direction Nico went. "Hey, wait!" cried Mike, touching Reyna's shoulder.

"Don't touch me..." Reyna threatened. Seriously, what was with this mortal and his flippant ignorance? "Okay, okay, geez... I was wondering if you wanted to do something later?" Mike questioned. "Well, I'm busy tonight... And NOT on my life!" shouted Reyna.

"Now, if you excuse me, I need to get to class... There's what, five minutes left?" Reyna guessed.

"You didn't need to be so rude," snarled Mike, stalking off in the opposite direction. Reyna had to snort. Being rude was the least of her worries, since Mike seemed to look like a player. Well, not really, but he seemed to act a little bit like one. If Reyna was going to find someone someday, it certainly wasn't going to be a filthy pervert!

Flipping through her papers, Reyna turned to the direction of her first class. There were considerably fewer people in the hallway, since the bell was going to ring soon. But being late was going to be the least of Reyna's worries, since the world of the gods was far more than some mere mortals could comprehend. At least Hecate was here, watching her in a non-stalkerish kind of way. Walking to her class, Reyna decided to reflect on some thoughts.

Going to school made Reyna feel low. All this was just, so... _ordinary. _So far, school was not what Percy had described earlier that day. He and Annabeth were unusually enthusiastic about Reyna's attempt to try school. Though, Reyna suspected that Percy enjoyed the rest of his high school years just because Annabeth was with him. That, and his mom's blue cookies were probably part of his daily school diet. Reyna had to smile at that memory, since Sally Jackson was a kind woman.

Reyna had only met her twice. One was a year and a half ago, and the other was just a few days ago, in preparation for school. In both of those visits, Reyna was still amazed on how the woman fawned over Percy. Then again, he _did_ go missing for a while, then nearly died on a two-month long voyage with the Seven to stop Gaea from waking, which failed epically.

Now something big was starting to brew on the horizon, again... The last few days were chaotic, with the gods making random and frequent visits in the mortal world. Even Jason and his quest group appeared on the national news, with something about them blowing up some random parking garage in Nashville. Reyna didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing, but hopefully it was good.

Hopefully, things were going okay on Frank's end. Reyna reminded him to check on New Rome right before he left on that Atlas-interrogation trip with Calypso. As a precaution, Reyna reminded Calypso to remind Frank to check on New Rome. Yeah, that was confusing, but Reyna needed to make sure Frank got it in his head. He was still somewhat getting adjusted to the general bulk of his praetorship duties. Reyna just prayed to Bellona that Frank would remember about those imperial-gold catapult defense systems that were implemented recently.

Wait... Reyna just realized that she was leaving most of her legion alone in New Athens. Granted, she did leave several of her most trusted centurions in charge, but what if something bad happened?

Gah, no! Reyna realized that she was overreacting too much. There were plenty of gods to scare her legionnaires straight, anyway. Besides, she needed some downtime for herself. As much as Reyna hated to admit it, she did get slightly overkill sometimes. And that was only from Nico's prodding for her to realize that. Thankfully, no monsters should be getting in Reyna's way, since the school was protected by the gods.

Yes, classroom 27A was finally in Reyna's vision, as the one-minute warning bell rang. There were only a few people left in the halls, as Reyna put on a burst of speed. Slowing down to a walk, she composed herself, took a deep breath, and strolled through the doorway. If there was one thing Reyna learnt over the years, it was how to compose yourself in front of a crowd.

Stepping foot in the art room, Reyna could feel the gaze of twenty-five pairs of eyes rest on her. "Ah, Ms. Ramirez-Arellano, I presume?" questioned the male teacher, standing up from his desk. "You've arrived just in time, but I think I'll give you a bit of slack, considering that it's your first day..."

Reyna tried her best to breathe inwardly. What she hated most of all was the blatant use of her last name. Sure, she did come to terms with her lineage, but it didn't mean that she wanted to use it all that often. The first thing Reyna knew she had to do was analyze the situation. Annabeth's lectures on that were quite adamant, but Reyna was sure that she had far more than enough experience. Most of the kids seemed bored, and some were curious. There was one guy, however, with bright-blue eyes and a muscular build who was gazing at Reyna.

Two girls looked at Reyna in the same way, except for the fact that they seemed to be plotting something. Ugh, mortals and their incredible dramatics... Reyna decided to turn her attention to Nico, who was face-palming on a nearby table. The son of Hades didn't look happy to be in there, but Nico wasn't really the best people-person.

"You can go sit with Mr. di Angelo over there," interrupted the teacher, pointing to the table Nico was sitting at. "By the way, my name is Mr. Alexi," smiled the teacher. He looked to be in his early thirties, and was wearing a white polo shirt. Traces of a fuzzy beard hung at his chin.

Reyna slowly tiptoed to her seat, taking in the smell of graphite surrounding the room. Easels were set up in a corner, and a row of cabinet storage lined one end of the room. In all, it seemed to be your ordinary classroom. Minus the two super-powerful demigods secretly sitting in it, that is. Reyna sat down onto a seat next to Nico, and placed her papers and pencils onto the table.

"So, class, this is Reyna and Nico, our new students! Give them a warm welcome!" cheered Mr. Alexi, gesturing to the two. Just great, Reyna didn't feel like having too much attention right now. She could see why Nico had his face buried on the tabletop. Reyna gave a small wave and a smile, trying to keep up the facade. "So, with that out of the way, can anyone tell me how Picasso's art style was reverenced as a herald in the world of 2D art? began Mr. Alexi.

"Dad, help me... PLEASE..." moaned Nico, from under his prison of arms. "Shh! I'm trying to listen!" snapped Reyna. Jerking his head up, Nico looked confused. "I thought you said you weren't going to like this either?" "Hey, maybe I'll learn something useful!" explained Reyna. Maybe something good would come out of school, thanks to Mr. Alexi's immediate dive into teaching.

Huh, maybe school wasn't going to be so bad after all. Hopefully, putting up with stupid, yet hormonal teenage boys and vengeful girls would be the only thing Reyna would have to deal with. She hoped that she wasn't going to have another run-in with Mike again, but it was probably going to be likely.

Nico gripped Reyna's right arm, muttering curses. "It's a day, get through it Nico!" she sighed, taking one of his hands. Mr. Alexi's voice droned into the distance, as Reyna started taking notes, in Latin, of course, with her remaining free hand. Hooray for school! Pft, as if.

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**I hope you guys liked! Reyna's story will be unraveling some very important stuff! Remember to review!**


	26. XXVI: Reyna

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you to enjoy! I think you'll like this one. Also, why can't people be bothered to review? I need them, and it is much appreciated! Just take literally 30 seconds to write SOMETHING that helps, gives me encouragement, or just random ramblings about your day or criticism. **

**Reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Aw man! It's a shame that you have a lot of projects to do.. I can feel the same, since I've gotten quite the workload of projects before. I'm sure you'll do great on them, and aim for a good grade! It's ironic, considering that I'm on break, and you're suffering away on projects, not being able to read your favorite story... *cough me *cough. SYNC!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "I dream of co-writing this book with him every night" Riordian. **

**So, without further ado...**

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**XXVI: Reyna**

**Reyna had to admit that blue cookies were** **awesome**. After a long day of suffering through her classes, avoiding boys, and walking back to Percy's apartment, she was ticked off. That, and to her horror, she actually got... _homework..._

"More cookies, dear?" smiled Sally Jackson, interrupting Reyna's thoughts. "Hey! What about me?!" exclaimed Percy, looking up from his plate. "Don't be rude, Seaweed Brain!" scolded Annabeth, slapping Percy's right arm. Reyna held in a snort of laughter; it was SO Percy-like of him to do that...

Reyna was currently sitting in Percy's kitchen, along with him and Annabeth. It was a long day, and Reyna was just thankful for some food. She was just walking back to New Athens with Nico, while fending off his attempts to call Jules-Albert. Seriously, Reyna felt that Nico needed some more exercise rather than being driven by a chauffeur at his own whim. It was then when she ran into Percy and Annabeth, who were just going for their daily visit to Sally. And Percy, being the nice person he was, invited Reyna over for some cookies. Nico protested, but Reyna dragged him along. That guy really needed to work on his socialization... But admittedly enough, it was getting better these days.

"So, how was your day, Reyna?!" asked Annabeth, with sparkling eyes. "Well, besides getting yelled at by three teachers and hit on by two boys, it went pretty well," Reyna said. "Yes, yes, and we all know you gave one of them a black eye," groaned Nico, who was also eating a cookie of his own. "Nice!" smiled Annabeth, giving Reyna a fistbump. "Yeah, well, you know, the guy wouldn't just leave me alone," sighed Reyna.

"Don't worry, I had the same problem with Annabeth," growled Percy, putting an arm around his fiancee. "Nothing a few 'talks' couldn't handle..."

"Seaweed Brain, you know I could have handled them myself!" shouted Annabeth. "I'm sure you did, my dear," grinned Sally, looking up from the stovetop. "I just say it like it is," grumbled Percy, shoving another cookie in his mouth. Reyna was stupefied at that moment. Just how many cookies could that guy put down his piehole? It was like Percy had a bottomless stomach.

"So, Nico... How was your day?" Annabeth asked, leaning forward. The daughter of Athena's love for school was so obviously spilling over here... "It wasn't all that good," Nico shrugged, "I didn't really learn anything..."

Annabeth looked horrified at Nico's lack of learning. Before she could say anything further, Reyna decided to step in. "So, Annabeth, you pumped for that meeting tonight?" Reyna questioned. "Heck, yeah!" stated the daughter of Athena. "There can't be anything better than meeting with people who want to kill you!" she said sarcastically. "I thought they wanted to kill Percy?" stated Nico, nibbling at another cookie. "I saved their butts like... twice.. So I think they should be the ones owing me..." Percy shrugged, wrapping an arm around Annabeth.

"I wouldn't let that get to your head," Reyna smiled, stretching her arms. "Hey! Since when have I done that?!" exclaimed Percy, leaning forward. "Dear, we all know when _that_ happened," scolded Sally, putting another platter of cookies on the table. "Mom, really?" groaned Percy, throwing his head on the wooden table. "Sure, I go missing for months, and you _still_ have to bring that up?

Reyna was massively curious on what Percy and Sally were referring to. Maybe it was probably better to not find out... Unless Sally wanted to tell. Reyna reminded herself NOT to call her Mrs. Jackson. Well, Blofis-Jackson, that was. But Sally had insisted on Reyna calling her by her first name.

Reyna had to sigh. Percy Jackson was lucky to have a mom like Sally. It was a shame that Reyna's mom just happened to be a immortal goddess who didn't bother interacting with her children. Sure, she got that Bellona was distant, but since the ancient laws were temporarily not in effect... the goddess still hadn't visited. Reyna was sure that Bellona had more important things to do than visit, anyway...

Taking a quick glance around Percy's apartment, Reyna had to admit that it was quaint. The kitchen was a pretty nice size, with two ovens, and a dozen whitewashed cabinets. The living room was cozy, with a soft, woolen-green couch at one end, and a medium-sized TV at the other. The bedrooms and other stuff were down a hall from the kitchen, but Reyna didn't want to find out what was in there. She wasn't THAT inconsiderate of privacy...

With an enemy coming on the horizon, Reyna wondered whether she would have time to relax. She barely relaxed these days, and was thankful for this little break in the theater play of: _The Life of a Demigod._ Right then, Annabeth decided to interrupt Reyna's musings.

"So, were any of your classes interesting?" Annabeth asked.

"I thought Spanish would be an easy A, so I decided to take that," shrugged Reyna. "I'm pretty sure that Ms. Jaunzi couldn't adequately pronounce several of those Spanish verbs... Sad really... I thought it would be a little better than what I was expecting..."

"I did have to take Spanish," sighed Annabeth. "On paper, it was _torture._ Verbally, it wasn't too bad..."

"Really?" smiled Reyna, "¿En serio? ¿Cómo va eso para usted?" It was a time like this where Reyna thanked her Puerto Rican heritage.

"Se ha ido bien ... Creo" muttered Annabeth.

"Not bad, Chase!" Reyna elicited. "Yeah, well, Spanish isn't really a demigod's strong learning point. I tried anyway.." shrugged Annabeth. "I have no idea what you just said... but... okay?" stammered Percy, looking at the two. "Same, Perce, same..." groaned Nico, reaching out to high-five Percy. Both Reyna and Annabeth shared a look: _boys._

Reyna could hear Sally hide in a chuckle from the corner of the kitchen she was working in. The woman was making all kinds of snacks, making Reyna's stomach growl. There were brownies being baked, and cookie dough being stirred. With amusement, Reyna remembered the first time she asked why the cookies were blue, and got a long backstory to go with that. Interestingly enough, Percy's next question almost made Reyna stumble.

"So, Nico, you find anyone good lately?" questioned Percy, with eyebrows raised. "Um, whatya mean?" muttered an embarrassed Nico, with bright-red cheeks. "Please," snorted Reyna, "Everyone knows you and Will are... How should I say this? Googly-eyeing each other?" Not to mention, it was kind of ironic to Reyna that a son of Apollo, AKA the lord of light, could fall for a son of darkness...

"I swear, nothing's going on!" exclaimed Nico, falling from his seat.

"Right, right, and I'm Hercules," teased Reyna. If Nico tried to deny it again, Reyna swore that she would march him up to Olympus, and throw him off of it. Of course, Nico wouldn't die. Reyna would be sure to send a flying eagle to pluck him to safety. She wasn't going to let her pseudo-little-brother die under her watch!

That, and Reyna was going to keep a sharp eye on Will. Technically, even though Nico admitted that he was bisexual, it didn't concern Reyna too much. There was a crush he had on a girl last year, but now Reyna wasn't too sure. Nico was like the little brother she never had, and she was going to do everything it took to protect him! Reyna thought on whether she should mobilize the legion's intelligence division or not...

"Please, guys, just don't pull an Aphrodite on my love life..." groaned Nico, burying his face in his hands.

"Nico, you know I'm looking out for you," winked Reyna, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Poor Nico... Reyna really hoped that he got a love life soon... Sure, she wasn't a Venus girl, but Nico deserved at least that much. Running around in Tartarus, or shadow-travelling for weeks with the statue of Athena couldn't have possibly been good for his health.

"Seriously, guys, I'm fine," muttered the son of Hades. Percy raised an eyebrow at that comment, then proceeded to shrug. Annabeth began to ask a question, and Nico started to answer. But Reyna zoned out, thinking about just how she would handle Nico's whole love dilemma.

"Hazel is still fine, as far as I was aware," interrupted Nico, jarring Reyna from her thoughts. "Sorry, what were you saying?" she asked. "I was just answering Annabeth's question on whether Jason and everyone else was okay," moaned the son of Hades.

"It's just so annoying, standing here and doing nothing! I can't even help anyone else on their quests! What about Frank? Is he going to be okay? Leo? Calypso? Even Jason and the others?" rambled Percy. "Percy, calm down," soothed Annabeth. "You know that's not how quests work... It's out of our hands!"

"It's like your trip on the Argo II, remember? Or my quest with Nico for the Athena Parthenos... Fate works in weird ways..." Reyna said. Well, the Fates weren't really working right now, since they were all kidnapped and stuff... But Reyna decided to push that thought away.

Suddenly, Reyna felt an idea spark in her mind. "Hey, Annabeth, you know how we were talking about me being able to fight the camp by myself?" "Yeah, so?" grunted Annabeth, running a hand through her princess curls. "How about this, after the meeting tonight... A game of Capture the Flag, me versus your camp?" Reyna asked, with a grin on her face.

With that, Annabeth struggled out of a protesting Percy's arms, and leaned forward, her face barely inches from Reyna's. "You are SO on, consider it done!" Annabeth yelled. "Any day, Chase," Reyna retorted. "Annabeth, shouldn't you reconsider this?" chuckled Percy, who was shooting Nico some looks of: _help me!_

"Actually, I kind of want to see this. I'm on Reyna's team, by the way..." Nico said. "I'm sure the two of us combined can beat you guys and the camp... minus a few other things, give or take.. And I need revenge for my poor eyes being scarred by your making-out!" he exclaimed, gesturing to Percy and Annabeth.

"Then you shouldn't have looked in the first place!" Percy droned.

"Excuse me, I don't think that shadow-travelling into a hot makeout-session was really my choice in the first place!" Nico shouted, waving his right hand. "If I wanted to do that, I could have just run into Jason and Piper by accident! No, wait, scratch that. I would prefer running into my sister kissing Frank! No, even better, running into Reyna kissing some random mortal!"

Reyna felt herself blush at that mention. Wait, since when did she start blushing!? This must be the work of Aphrodite... Either that, or she was seriously hallucinating for some odd reason. But, could there be hope? Aphrodite did say that no demigod could heal her heart... But what about a mortal? As much as Reyna detested some of them, she couldn't help but hope for that someday. Being twice-rejected did leave a bitter taste in her mouth, and at eighteen, she still hadn't experienced any form of serious romance yet.

"Nico, you're rambling again. Can you keep it down?" suggested Sally, wiping the tabletop. "Sorry, Mrs. Jackson," sighed the son of Hades. Sally shot Nico a stern look, "What did I say about calling me that? It's Sally, please, my dear!" "Uh, right..." stammered Nico, reaching for yet another cookie. Internally, Reyna was pleased on Nico's attempt to start eating more. Though, she did suspect that Sally was trying to fatten him up.

"Nico, I'm sorry," apologized Percy. "I didn't mean to push you like that..."

"It's fine," Nico waved, "So, back on topic, are we really doing this?"

"Heck yeah!" screamed Reyna and Annabeth, at the same time. Reyna was starting to get all fired-up now, especially at the prospect of beating up an entire camp of Greeks. Sure, they were all her dear friends, but all's fair in a game of love-and-war-in-capture-the-flag. Reyna felt the need to vent out her current frustrations on an army, anyway.

"Percy, if you're doing this," butted in Sally, "Be sure to wear that armor of yours, and please add in that insect-repellent spray I packed for you..."

"Mom, it's a magical camp, how are insects even a problem?" groaned the son of Poseidon, eating what was probably his dozenth cookie in two minutes. "Besides, I'm a water dude, insects hate me!"

"Percy..." sighed Sally, giving her son a stern look. "Seaweed Brain, I think you should listen to her," teased Annabeth, nudging Percy's left shoulder. Reyna wondered just how Sally was able to put up with Percy all these years... Probably luck.

"Well, it's starting to get late..." started Nico, gesturing toward the clock. "If I'm aware, the meeting starts at six, right? And as far as I'm aware... it's five... I don't know about you guys, but I would really avoid ticking off the gods..."

Reyna felt the same. But then again, Mother Rhea was around, and she was telling off each and every one of the Olympians... The last thing that Reyna heard, Rhea was lecturing Zeus over hygiene, not visiting his children, being corrupt, paranoid, and a few other things. Yeah, the sudden appearance of that goddess was interesting, since it happened right before Frank left on his quest. She was mumbling on about how it was imperative to find that cloudy orb, which she dubbed as the _Ouaresphere. _Reyna was kind of curious on how it got stolen in the first place... Maybe in the mass confusion of the last meeting they were having?

"Well, with Rhea around," interrupted Percy, "I really highly doubt that they would try anything..."

"Oh, that reminds me!" chimed in Sally. She handed Reyna a tray wrapped in tinfoil. Peering inside, Reyna saw mounds of cookies, brownies, caramel, and other assorted snacks that she couldn't bother to name.

"What is this for?" piqued Annabeth, peering at the tray. Reyna felt like she really wanted to know too. Not like she was complaining, though...

"Oh, it's for you to share with the other gods!" Sally smiled. "I know being immortal makes some of them cranky, so some snacks would be good. Oh, Reyna, be a dear and give Poseidon some of those cookies. I know myself how much he enjoys them... And do be sure to share! I heard that Ares is quite the fanatic for caramels, and you really had better give Demeter some of those fudge bites. Also, please give Rhea my thanks!"

Reyna felt her eyes bulge at that intake of information. Since when did Sally become all chummy with the gods themselves? "Uh, Mrs.. I mean, Sally. Where are you getting all this from?" Reyna questioned.

"Hm, well, Poseidon's been visiting for the last couple days with Percy here, so I got some tips!" the woman chimed. Well, okay. An immortal god and his demigod son going for a stroll in an apartment block... Surprisingly enough, it wasn't the strangest thing that Reyna had ever seen. Seriously, there was this one time where the fortress in the Field of Mars got flipped in a one-hundred-eighty degree angle, and Reyna had no clue how that happened.

"Um, so, can we go now?" Nico asked, leaping up from his chair.

"I'll drive!" exclaimed Percy, waving out his car keys. The son of Poseidon looked strangely happy to be driving a car. It was weird, since one story that Reyna heard about him was a pegasus crashing onto the hood of his stepfather's Prius.

"NO!" shouted Reyna, Annabeth, and Nico, in perfect succession. Even though Percy could probably drive okay enough, Reyna would prefer to stay alive. The savior of Olympus may have plenty of talents, but driving a car wasn't a particularly strong one. The best that Reyna could give him out of ten in terms of driving a car was a seven, and as far as she was concerned, that was too low for her.

"You know, I should probably call Jules-Albert, we'll be much more safer with him," shrugged Nico, attempting to have a glaring match with Reyna. Reyna had to give Nico a break here, or else he was probably going to crack.

"Okay, FINE... Jules-Albert can drive..." Reyna sighed.

"Yes! Thank you!" exclaimed Nico, giving Reyna a hug. Wow, he was starting to get really sociable lately...

Percy's face represented that of a kicked puppy. "B-but," he stammered. "I wanted to show off my driving skills... It can't be all that bad.. Honestly?"

"Don't worry," cooed Annabeth, patting her boyfriend's back. "There's another time to prove yourself. Just not now, when we're all busy with a meeting and stuff... And don't you want to be busy eating those cookies, anyway?"

"Fine..." mumbled Percy, walking toward the door, entwining his hands with Annabeth's.

Tiptoeing out of her seat, and balancing the weight of the tray in her hands, Reyna decided to set off, as well. It was a little bit of a emotional moment for Reyna, since she was leaving a warm home. _Home..._ Reyna hadn't quite experienced a home like Sally's. Her family villa was nothing like that, and had no warmth. Sure, the praetor quarters back in New Rome were great, but it wasn't the same without a mother hen.

"Be safe, my dears!" exclaimed Sally, who was still baking goodies.

"Thank you!" exclaimed Reyna, gesturing for Nico to move ahead of her. In all honesty, this afternoon made Reyna feel _normal._ It was so weird, having a teenage-demigodish talk about life in a kitchen full of baked goods. And for once, Reyna felt carefree. Maybe this little break wasn't such a bad idea...

"Bye!" waved Nico, who had already reached the front door. "Goodbye! And Nico, please eat some more, you're too thin!" suggested Sally.

The son of Hades muttered, and headed out of the door. "Nico, wait!" huffed Reyna, desperately trying to balance the snack tray. Really? Was this what she, the praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, and leader of Camp Jupiter, was reduced to? A waitress who was carrying snacks? Well, at least it wasn't the worst thing in the world to do.

Reyna scurried to the door, with an impatient Nico tapping on the floor. "Well, well, what took you so long?" sighed the son of Hades. Reyna glared. "At least I'm not the one carrying a tray full of fragile snacks! Oh, and Nico, can you summon Jules-Albert in an alley or something? I don't know if the Mist will cover this up," she sighed.

"Whatever..." shrugged Nico.

Reyna felt the urge to roll her eyes. This was just going to be great. A meeting with dozens of immortals on their next course of action, and an incredible game of Capture-the-Flag afterwards. Yeah, you could say that this was going to be one of Reyna's better evenings.

Gesturing Nico out of the door, Reyna shut it behind her. Percy and Annabeth were waiting at the stairwell, waiting for Reyna and Nico. The couple seemed to be chattering happily away, so very much in love. It just reminded Reyna so much more about her incapability of love... Or lack of it.

No, it was time to put on a brave face for tonight. Time to be the leader that other people always expected her to be. With a nod, Reyna smiled, looking forward toward the evening sun, and for the future.

"Let's go!" Percy chattered, making room for Reyna to go first.

Yes, it was going to be a good evening, and Reyna was going to be sure of that.

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**I hope that you guys like! Be sure to review! I sure would love them... :D**


	27. XXVII: Reyna

**I am back! Got yet another pretty interesting chapter. I promise you guys, next chapter is going to totally be all about ACTION. Capture the Flag is coming, baby! Though I do suggest you pay attention in this chapter, it reveals quite a few things. Don't forget to review, and spread the word about this awesome sequel! Well, it's as awesome as I can make it be...**

**Reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Don't worry... It's perfectly fine! Just keep puttering along on your projects!**

**Bris: Um, if you mean "nice" chapter, then thanks! I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Hope to see you soon!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick Riordian, of whom I hope to see a great Magnus Chase book coming soon!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XXVII: Reyna**

**Seeing immortals gulp down snacks was new to Reyna.** She had barely put down the snack tray on a table in the _agora_, when an army of gods started wolfing it down like it was no tomorrow. For immortals who had anything to eat for their whole lives, it sure didn't look like it right now...

"MMM... MMM!" moaned the god Ares, who was eating some caramels. Demeter elected the same noise, except for the fact that she was swallowing down some fudge bites. Reyna had to groan. Was this what the Olympians were reduced to? Dessert-eating cannibals?

Reyna could hear Rhea elicit a snort, as the goddess was writing on some sort of paper nearby. Zeus' mother was wearing a white chiton dress, with her hair bangled up in spades. At least this was one goddess who bothered to change her clothing once in a while. Ugh, that was so Aphrodite-like... Reyna reminded herself to get a checkup later. Right then, Zeus decided to interrupt.

"Demeter, Ares, that's enough!" snapped Zeus, forcing the two gods to back away from the snack tray.

Well, this was quite the situation for Reyna. After being driven back to New Athens by Jules-Albert, she and the others gathered in the _agora_ for the meeting, as per usual. Surprisingly, there was a little time to kill before the meeting, so Percy went off with his dad, and Annabeth started drawing up some blueprints with her mom. Reyna had no idea where Nico was, but the last thing she saw, Lord Pluto dragged him off somewhere. After waiting for fifteen minutes, the gods started gathering around, and Percy and Nico returned from wherever the heck they were.

The various gods, goddesses, and demigods all turned their attention to Zeus. Nearly everyone was present, including Hera, Hecate, Demeter, Dioynsus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Apollo (who was still wearing a dunce cap), Ares, Hades, Hestia, Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, and several minor gods and goddesses.

Artemis was nearby, with several gauze bandages racking her arms. The goddess looked visibly shaken up, muttering some things about her hunters. The last thing Reyna remembered, Artemis was combating an orange creature in the woods of Kentucky, trying to cover Jason's escape. It had been a while since that incident happened, but the goddess still wouldn't let it go. Three of her hunters died in that ambush.

"Ahem, I call this meeting to order, Athena, will you take the stage?" muttered Zeus, interrupting Reyna out of her thoughts.

"Thank you father..." started Athena, walking to the center of the _agora._ "Now, as you all know, I've presented an itinerary on our discussion today, which should be present in front of you..."

At that moment, a piece of paper written in Latin poofed right in front of Reyna. Well, how convenient... The surrounding demigods and gods also received an itinerary of their own, making them all groan. Reyna tried to look on the bright side. At least there was a nice game of Capture the Flag to come afterwards. That, and maybe this would actually be interesting for once.

Reyna thought she heard Poseidon mutter something under his breath. Something about an "owl head"... Nah, she was probably just imagining it.

"I heard that, Poseidon..." sighed Athena. "Now, moving on, can everyone turn to page one?"

Reyna felt like she was reminded of school all over again. Speaking of which... she still needed to do that Spanish homework the teacher dumped on her, for "showing her up." Please, that woman's wording of Spanish couldn't compare to Reyna's.

Percy, Annabeth, and Nico were standing near their respective parents, each trying to make sense of the itinerary. Reyna saw Hera mutter something under her breath, as the goddess changed the page. Was this a board-meeting or something? Reyna decided to take pity on the mortal lawyers who had the unfortunate task of suffering something like this.

All of a sudden, Hera froze. "My lord, may I be excused for a moment? I believe there's something urgent calling me.. And I really did make a promise over this. Oh, peacock's feathers, I need to go!" The goddess dissipated in the evening breeze.

Zeus blinked. "Well, that was rather unexpected... Athena, will you carry on?" the sky god chuckled, trying to avoid Rhea's dark looks.

"Right, so as I was saying, our first order is the weakening of the Mist. We do not know why this is occurring, and if it is widespread over certain areas. What we do know, however, is the example of Jason's ambush," said Athena, gesturing to a slideshow screen that she just conjured up. Reyna could see a picture of three SWAT team members appearing on the slide, with unknown symbols.

"They used a veil to cover themselves, and arrest Jason and his group, and sent them to jail," began Athena, "And later, people could see Hermes for what he really was, as soon as a rescue was attempted." With that, Hermes waved, grinning widely.

A murmur stirred across the _agora._ Reyna felt her blood go cold. What if the Mist failed? Then the mortals would panic and go crazy. What would be even worse is if they started attacking demigods or locking them up. So many things could go wrong in this situation. Reyna could only hope that the gods would contain the situation, and even better, stop those mortals from interfering in affairs.

"I have good reason to believe that the Fates' kidnapping is tied to this, due to the fact that their raveling of destiny, in turn, can indirectly influence the Mist," concluded Athena, changing the slideshow to a picture of the Fates. And that picture did NOT do them any favors, at all.

To Reyna, that was a pretty solid conclusion. She wondered just what the heck the unknown enemy was doing to the Fates, to make the Mist have problems like this. She could imagine three old ladies locked up on the top of a tower, with gags on their mouths, and their loom dangling by a thread. But what enemy could have kidnapped them in the first place? What was there to gain from the abduction of the Fates? Reyna recalled an old story that the Fates were the children of Nyx, also known as Mother Night. Nyx wouldn't do this to her kids, would she? And Calypso said that there was no way that the enemy was Nyx.

"In reality, there is not much we can do, but hope that Jason and his quest group can rescue the Fates in time, before this situation gets worse. Unfortunately, due to my father's restrictions on interference, there isn't too much left for any of us to do," sighed Athena, making it a point to glare at Zeus.

"Even though the Fates are gone, it is still in my place to maintain a semblance of the ancient laws in their absence," Zeus grumbled, trying to avoid the looks that nearly every immortal and demigod were giving him. Reyna did have to admit that the lord of the sky was not very favored right now. n

"Yeah, well, what's not going to make us go all YOLO on you?!" yelled Ares, leaping up from a chair he was sitting on.

"SIT DOWN! I thought I told you to work on your tableside manners!" scolded Rhea, making Ares lean back down in shame.

A loud _POP_ made Reyna jump. She and all the gods unsheathed their weapons, as more than a dozen people fell from the sky, crashing to the ground. Hera materialized in Reyna's vision, with a smug grin on her face.

"HERA! What in the name of Hades' underpants is going on?!" exclaimed Zeus, with a furious look on his face. "Um, I mean, where did they all come from?" he nervously said, as Rhea gave him the evil stink-eye.

"Hey! I'm right here, you know?!" Hades yelled, waving his arms around.

"Yes, honey, we all know you're here. Oh, and please do remember to clean your throne room. Don't forget the underpants too!" Rhea said, switching to filing her nails. Hades' mom looked content in her current position.

Embarrassed, the lord of the Underworld snapped up a chair and sat down. Reyna was incredibly amazed on the fact that Rhea was forcing her children into submission. The bigger issue would have to be just what the flying heck were over a dozen people crashing in a meeting for?

"Dear husband, Calypso summoned me with a favor, and I obliged," bowed Hera, gesturing to the small crowd of gaping people. Reyna could have sworn that she saw two of them pass out.

Slowly, the gods relaxed, and lowered their weapons. Reyna sheathed her sword, and felt a sigh of relief. It would be pretty bad if everything within a thirty-five mile radius was blown up by paranoid Olympians and their weapons of mass destruction.

"W-what is this place?" stammered one of the men from the group. He appeared to be in his forties, while wearing a torn gray shawl. Cracked spectacles crowned his blue eyes, and a mass of tousled brown hair sat on top of his head.

"This is New Athens... and who are you?" asked Zeus, trying to restrain himself from vaporizing the guy. "I presume you all are demigods or legacies?"

"Actually," chuckled Hera. "They're... um... _mortals._"

"Ha. Ha. Ha..." Zeus muttered. "So you conveniently decided to teleport some mortals, who are supposed to know _nothing_ about us, into a highly classified meeting? Forgive me, but doesn't that seem... rash?" The lord of the skies made sure to pick his words carefully, lest he face Rhea's wrath.

"Hey, I may be many things, but I owed Calypso. Besides, they were inside quite the scary facility... Missiles and rockets everywhere... It was about to blow up, anyway," shrugged Hera.

Reyna did a double-take at that. Just why the heck was Calypso in a highly-flammable war room? If Calypso was there, then maybe Frank and Leo were there too... Oh, if Frank got himself blown up, Reyna swore that she would raise Frank from the dead to kill him for leaving her alone, again!

"Okay, I won't ask why," groaned Zeus, "But can someone escort them out?"

"Oh, I'll do it!" exclaimed Rhea, motioning for the shell-shocked group of mortals to move out of the _agora._

The mortals were muttering to themselves, and pointing their fingers at various marble structures as they were ushered out by Rhea. The two unconscious guys were floating in midair, being pulled by Rhea's magic. Reyna could hear most of the immortals sigh a breath of relief as Rhea left. She had to guess that they really didn't want to have to be scolded some more, which was totally understandable. But at the same time, Reyna had to roll their eyes of the evident wimpery. Wait.. was wimpery even a word? Whatever.

As the group of mortals left, awkward silence descended on the _agora._ Reyna felt incredibly out of it. So much was happening at once, yet so little was done in the first place. Maybe having the gods in here wasn't the best idea after all.

"Okay, moving on," continued Athena, recovering from the sudden interruption. "Next on our itinerary is discovering just what we're up against. Now, first, as far as I'm aware, Calypso has led several people to interrogate her father. She believes that Atlas could have some clues as to what is really happening here. And, not to mention, there was a mysterious orb stolen, in which my dear grandmother, Rhea, has said to be of great importance..."

With that, Poseidon, and a bunch of goddesses snorted. Reyna tried to respect the gods, but sometimes, they acted just like little _kids._ Maybe it was the fact that they never really had a childhood? They did fight the Giants pretty early on in their reign, anyway.

"First off, Athena just explained in a nutshell why my control over the Mist is weakening, and second, I honestly think we could be facing a primordial god here," piped up Hecate, who was standing quietly in a corner.

"But how would this be possible? Gaea has fallen. Tartarus is just an abyss in the Underworld. Who is left that would dare threaten our presence?" thundered Zeus, who looked skeptical by this assumption.

"Even in my wisdom, I know little else of the primordials," sighed Athena. "They were the very first to have spawned from Chaos itself. Erebos came first. Then Nyx. Then Gaea, Ouranos, and all the rest. The details I've found are sketchy at best."

Reyna felt totally out of her league here. Right now, here was direct talk about the primordials themselves. The most powerful and top-tier of any immortal being that could ever exist. Incredibly difficult to defeat too, unless tricked. One such example was Gaea, two years ago, when Leo had swooped the earth goddess up on Festus, taking her to the skies. Even now, Reyna could still remember the massive explosion that had taken her out. Would any other primordials be able to be defeated in that way? Some of them didn't exactly have a source to draw back on, like the Earth was for Gaea.

"Mom, I really think we should hang back and investigate more leads, there's just nothing else we can do now," suggested Annabeth, who was leaning on a nearby column, with Percy at her side.

"My dear daughter," chuckled Athena, "What could prompt you to do this?"

"Sparta. A friend of mine persuaded me that knowledge wasn't always the best option to get out of a situation. Sometimes, you just have to plunge in head-first, and worry about things later. We just need to hope for the best, and just work with what we have..."

Reyna had no idea just how philosophical Annabeth had gotten. What was even more amusing was the fact that she gave advice to her own mother, the freaking goddess of _wisdom. _Athena looked like she was about to say something, but closed her mouth. Reyna thought that Athena was going to give her daughter a point for once. It was actually pretty interesting advice.

"Athena, is there anything else you would like to add?" questioned Zeus, smoothing his pinstripe suit. "I, for once, would like to get back to those refreshments, in which Poseidon's ex has so generously created for us..."

"FINALLY!" roared Poseidon and Percy, at the same time. "If you hadn't noticed, my lord, my tummy feels funny..." muttered Percy, who started treading toward the snack tray for a cookie, with Poseidon right behind him.

Reyna could literally feel everyone in the room, including herself, sweatdrop like those anime cartoons. Forget primordial gods. The real problem here was avoiding the massive IQ drop that Reyna was about to get. Well, not really, but Reyna had a good idea on what she meant.

With a massive surge of outcry from the gods, and shouts of protest from Athena, the immortals and demigods all surged toward the snack tray that Sally made. In literal seconds, there was nothing left. Looking at one end, Reyna saw Nico and Hades sharing a brownie. Percy and Poseidon were stuffing their mouths with blue cookies. Ares and Demeter had resumed binge-eating their favorite snacks. Reyna realized with horror that this was total anarchy... of desserts!

Only Athena looked upset by the abrupt end of her meeting, and stormed off. Well, more like vanished in a blazing column of fire, that was. In all the chaos, Annabeth sauntered over to Reyna, with a smug grin on her face.

"You ready to get your butt handed to you?" smirked the daughter of Athena. Annabeth looked all fired-up and ready to go.

"Oh, no no no. You're the one who's going to get a smack-down, _Chase_," grinned Reyna. "And if you want that to happen, I had better suggest that you start organizing your cabins and whatever... Not that I'm complaining..."

"I already did that, when you weren't looking," Annabeth smiled, sticking her tongue out at Reyna. "If it makes you happy, I'll give you a five-minute head start, if you like... Not that it would help much..."

"Oh, it is SO on, I don't need any of your five-minute pity starts," growled Reyna. "We start this in the woods, two hours from now!"

"Hey, ladies, there's no need to have this spat!" exclaimed Percy, sauntering over with his dad, Poseidon.

The two looked like they just ate the living Pluto out of Mount Everest or something. Reyna noticed that Poseidon was wearing his usual attire, with a red Hawaiian shirt, and Birkenstocks. The sea god had a cookie pronged at each end of the trident he was carrying.

"Seaweed Brain, this is pride... We're going to settle this, and you're helping me!" ordered Annabeth.

"B-but... Can I stay out of this?" stammered Percy, who tried backing out of the warring girls.

"Percy," sighed Poseidon, who wiped cookie crumbs from his mouth. "A word of advice from your old man. If you're getting married, a happy wife equals a happy life. An unhappy wife equals stone-cold misery for the rest of your life... Trust me, my personal experience with Amphitrite says at least that much."

Reyna decided not to ask what the whole Amphitrite fuss was about. That, and she totally agreed with that statement. If you were a guy and you were going to marry a gal, you better be sure to make her happy, or ELSE.

"You should listen to your dad, you know? I swear to you, Percy, you ARE doing this thing!" yelled Annabeth, dragging a protesting Percy by the ear.

"I'll be watching tonight son! Do your best!" waved Poseidon, as a struggling Percy was dragged by Annabeth down to the cabin green, which was quite a long walk away. The sea god looked proud of his son, even though he was being pummeled by his fiancee.

Reyna felt a moment of awkward silence as the sea god laid eyes on her.

"So... Reyna, I presume?" asked Poseidon, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, my lord," said Reyna, doing a small curtsy. Well, it was the best one she could do while wearing blue jeans, anyway.

"I guess I never did get to thank you properly, for what happened two years ago... Even though I quite detest the thought of Athena, the fact that you returned her statue to us did wonders. If you only could understand how difficult it was, coping with the entire Greek and Roman schism. So, again, for that, I must thank you from the bottom of my heart..." sighed Poseidon.

"Really, it was no problem, my lord..." stuttered Reyna, with a growing blush on her cheeks. It wasn't every day that all-powerful gods actually complemented or paid attention to what she did. It was nice to know that what she did wasn't in vain.

"Likely so. Consider your future carefully, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano... I will be watching." nodded Poseidon. "I will be off now. I presume that you have a Capture-the-Flag match to play? Good luck with that!"

"Thanks! And uh, I'll try my best!" said Reyna, doing a bow. With that, Poseidon did a hum, and started strolling down the street leading out of the _agora, _taking a bite out of one of the cookies on his trident.

Again, not the strangest thing that Reyna saw. Anyway, the meeting was kind of interesting, overall. It was time to take a little advice and play it by ear, like Annabeth said. And last that Reyna remembered, it was time for a match of the ages!

Well, she would have to find Nico first. Reyna knew that the son of Hades was probably still eating that brownie with his dad. Geez, talk about weird father-son bonding time over a mortal snack cake.

With a cunning smile, Reyna started to plan out her strategy. A Capture-the-Flag match at night? _Epic. _Even better would be the son of Hades who had unlimited shadow-travel capabilities thanks to the darkness. And even better, an entire army of Greeks to face in battle! Yes, tonight was going to be great, and Reyna would be sure about that.

_Yes, I will be watching, my dear... _whispered a voice. Reyna jerked her head around, trying to identify it. It didn't seem to come from the crowd, who were still trying to consume those snacks. No, that voice was familiar to Reyna somehow. How or why, Reyna didn't know. Shrugging it off, she decided to look for Nico, who she really needed right now.

Yes, that voice couldn't have been much... Could it? Reyna wasn't sure.

* * *

**Well? I hope you guys found this interesting. First off, I will remind you that trying to put descriptions of every single person and everything they say is far too much of a chore in this type of chapter. It clogs the story up too much, and stuff is only being told from Reyna's point of view, and it's not like she's going to notice everything that happens, only the important stuff. So, I hope you guys review! **


	28. XXVIII: Reyna

***Note: Chapter 29 will be posted by Thursday, April 9, by 10:00 PM, EST***

**Hey guys! I got quite the chapter for you today! This is now my longest chapter ever! It's crossed over 4,000 words! It's totally action-rific. You will all be pleased with this, I assure you!**

**Reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Yes, you are correct! You'll see a little more in this chapter ;). I'm happy that you inhaled that chapter... Which indicates to me that you'll absolutely LOVE this chapter. I swear to you, I think this is going to be one of your top #3 chapters, so I ask for a LONG review, if you have the time :D. No worries if you can't, just curious to see your every thought on this chapter, which WILL make you gush.**

**Brie: Yup, it's Bellona. You'll see more in this chapter :D. Thanks for reviewing! I have a few more surprises coming in the future, so stay tuned for that!**

**Court: Thanks for getting up-to-date with the chapters! I was starting to wonder where you were... Glad to see you're back! I'm glad that Frank and Reyna are entertaining you very much!**

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "I must plot to obtain the copyright from someday..." Riordian. **

**So, without further ado... A WHOPPER of a chapter to finish off Reyna's POV!**

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**XXVIII: Reyna**

**Reyna thought that there was nothing better than an army of Greeks charging at her.** With a yell, she pulled out her imperial gold sword, rushing to intercept the nearest phalanx. With a grunt, Reyna sidestepped the nearest male Greek, and tripped his legs. The soldier fell onto the ground with a _thud,_ and his six comrades froze in their tracks, surrounding Reyna like a cat cornering its prey.

It was nightfall in the woods of Camp Half-Blood, and Reyna was ready for action. She had no idea where Percy and Annabeth were, considering that they were probably the most dangerous out of Reyna's opponents tonight. All Reyna had to do was to occupy the Greeks, while Nico shadow-traveled to get the flag.

Suddenly, the six remaining Greeks all shouted, and charged at Reyna. Putting on a burst of speed, Reyna dove between the legs of a female soldier, causing her to lose her balance, and stumble headfirst into a pile of mud. With a smirk, Reyna planted her hands on the ground, and somersaulted up, hitting another soldier right in the middle of the eyes. The Greek screamed in agony, clutching her poor eyeballs. While blinded, the soldier tripped over a tree root, and went crashing down to the ground.

Four left to go... Reyna was analyzing every single eventuality that could occur. Most likely that this was a group of patrols, considering that there were still hundreds of Greek demigods and legacies lurking in the forest.

Reyna's battle-mind snapped to the attention of two Greeks swinging their swords at her. She whipped down her back, just in time for the _ding_ of both swords to impact each other. Reyna could hear the chatter of vibrating teeth from the two surprised soldiers.

With a grunt, Reyna swung her right leg around, and her foot impacted the cheek of the solider on the left, making his head slam into the ground with a sickening _crack. _Well, the soldier did look like a guy, but the way he was screaming was NOT doing him any favors.

"You want more?!" yelled Reyna, swinging her sword in an arc. The three remaining Greeks all skittered around nervously, circling Reyna. There appeared to be two guys and one girl left. Reyna needed to act quickly. The longer she dwindled here, the more time that the Greek army would have, to reach her. Slowly taking in her surroundings, Reyna noticed an enclave of trees surrounding a large rock nearby.

"There's no escape for you, _Roman_," growled one of the Greeks, twirling his sword around.

"That's what you think... Tubby..." smiled Reyna.

"TUBBY?!" roared the Greek, definitely a guy. With a bellow, he ran for Reyna, raising his sword high in the air. His comrades formed up on either side of him, each wielding a spear and a shield.

Running for her dear life, Reyna bolted toward the rocky enclave. The Greeks behind her weren't giving up their pursuit, which Reyna had to commend them for. Right as she was about to slam into the rock, Reyna threw her feet up, preparing to use it as a launching pad.

_One one-hundred, one two-hundred, one three-hundred..._ thought Reyna. The remaining Greeks were just barely several meters behind her now. With a cry, Reyna threw all her strength in her feet, flipping up in midair. She could see the two flanking Greeks crash into the rock, and collapse to the ground. The tubby-ish guy in the middle barely halted, with a confused look on his face.

A loud_ thud_ ensued as Reyna slammed into the neck of the tubby guy, finally completing her midair descent. The solider howled in pain, dropping his sword. Grunting, Reyna wrapped her legs around his neck, making him stumble around. It was as if the dude was a puppet, and Reyna was the puppeteer.

"Now, where's the flag?" questioned Reyna, maintaining her tight hold.

"N-never," stuttered the tubby guy, desperately jerking around to get Reyna off his back.

"I faced a giant, and killed him the _exact_ same way," threatened Reyna. "Now, tell me where the flag is, unless you want to be seeing nothing but black stars for the next couple of hours!"

"S-Silena's Grove," muttered the soldier.

"Thank you," smiled Reyna. "Now, have a nice sleep!"

The protesting shouts of the Greek was cut off by Reyna twist-flipping him to the ground, using nothing but her legs. Slowly, he started to snore, muttering something about bunnies and wonderland.

Reyna had to sigh. She had hoped that those soldiers would be better opponents. Most likely, they were just new trainees or something. Either that, or they were really stupid. Reyna didn't expect for the soldier to give away the location of the flag so quickly like that... What in Pluto's name was up with that dude? He really needed to work on resisting interrogations. Anyway, Silena's Grove? Reyna had heard of the name before. Apparently, it was named after a Greek demigod who had died in the Titan War. She never heard the full story, but Silena died a hero somehow...

Wait, if the flag was at Silena's Grove... then Nico could be walking into a trap! Reyna remembered the start of the game, fifteen minutes ago, when Nico said he was going to look for the flag at Zeus' Fist first. Knowing Annabeth, Reyna knew that the daughter of Athena was clever enough to start an ambush anywhere. To make matters worse, Reyna and Nico would be outnumbered by, like... two-hundred to one. The number was probably higher, but whatever.

Wiping dust off her jeans, Reyna stood up. There didn't seem to be any other opponents nearby, but she knew better. Sons of Apollo were probably set-up in those trees further ahead, ready to fire. The sons of Mercury... er... _Hermes__, _probably had a bunch of traps laying around where their flag was.

Scanning the area, Reyna decided to walk toward the direction of a nearby stream. If her calculations were correct, it would route the long way around Silena's Grove, allowing Reyna to sneak around the "back" way. Okay, maybe she did glance at a map of the Camp Half-Blood woods and surrounding boundaries right before the game started... But when you're facing hundreds of Greeks, all's fair in love and war!

Sheathing her sword, Reyna set off at a quick jogging rate. Things were too oddly quiet for some reason... No doubt that Annabeth was planning something. Whatever the case was, Reyna knew that she had to get the flag first and cross the creek before the other side could find hers.

Right before the game, Reyna hid her flag where she was sure that it couldn't be found easily: _the Devil's Den._ Besides the Greeks having to navigate those treacherous rocks, Reyna was sure to rig some rudimentary traps in there.

Lost in thought, Reyna nearly didn't notice a pit of Greek fire that laid in front of her. Skidding to a halt, she navigated her way carefully around it. What if there was a tripwire? Reyna didn't want to risk that. Putting on another burst of speed, Reyna continued following the stream. She hoped that Percy wasn't around here, due to his power over water. But if Reyna had to guess, he would be somewhere more important than a tiny creek.

A loud rustle made Reyna jerk her head, as two Greeks emerged from the bushes, with swords in their hands. It seemed to be a poorly-conducted ambush...

"Great, more of you lunatics?" sighed Reyna, standing on alert.

"Hey! We take offense at that!" exclaimed a voice, in which Reyna recognized as Travis Stoll. If Travis was here, that meant his brother, Conner, must be the other guy. Reyna could tell that it was Travis, by his obnoxious voice. She had learnt how to identify twins, thanks to all the problems that other twins in the Twelfth Legion were giving her. That, and Travis was the taller one.

"Hey, eat this!" shouted Conner, who decided to butt in. The son of Hermes chucked a brown vial at Reyna, in which she dodged.

"AHHH!" Travis yelled, as the flying vial smashed into his face. The _other_ son of Hermes bent over, and started throwing up on the ground.

"Bro! That was our experimental vial!" pouted Conner, "You know it took days for the Hecate cabin to conjure up a puke-inducer like that!"

Reyna started laughing hard at that. It was so Stoll-like of them to do something like this. Wiping her tears, Reyna sprinted to Conner and rammed her elbow into his nose. He crumpled like a pile of wrinkled paper, muttering something about girls and Lou Ellen.

Shrugging, Reyna decided to ignore a puking Travis and move on. It seemed like both of the Stolls weren't going to be going anywhere anytime soon. The cries of Travis were barely audible as Reyna crossed into the visual range of Silena's Grove.

From a distance, the grove appeared to be really pretty. There were sunflowers, bluebells, dandelions, and all sorts of beautiful plants surrounding it. Trees arched high in the sky, giving the grove some shelter. A mound stood in its center, with something shockingly recognizable on top of it.

Widening her eyes, Reyna noticed Nico sitting right next to the flag, bound up in ropes and ties. The son of Hades looked embarrassed, like he had been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. The grove was oddly empty, with no one but Nico around. The flag was a gleaming orange, embroidered with the letters CHB on it. Crouching down, Reyna crawled to the nearest bush, and observed. Nico and the flag seemed to be about sixty feet away.

There really didn't seem to be anything in the way of the flag. No wire traps, no soldiers, no nothing. Cautiously, Reyna decided to try and get Nico's attention. She slowly grabbed a nearby pebble, and tossed it in the direction of the son of Hades.

A _clatter_ sound rang across the grove, as the pebble came to a rest, just barely inches from Nico. Bewildered, he jerked up his head, and starting searching around for the source of the noise. Reyna felt hope surge through her veins as the son of Hades' gaze rested upon the bush Reyna was hiding in.

Slowly, but subtlety, Nico shook his head. Reyna could have sworn that she saw his mouth say something like: _GO!_ Confused, she edged just ever so slightly out of the bush cover. With a grunt, Nico threw himself on the ground, trying to crawl to Reyna. Pain was evident on his face, as if he was trying to warn her about something.

Reyna couldn't help but rush out to assist Nico. Ugh, her protective sisterly side was showing out again... But it was a sensation that Reyna rather enjoyed.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Nico.

"Trying to help you, duh?" stated Reyna, pulling him up to his feet.

"NO! I was trying to warn you! They trapped me at Zeus' Fist! She knew that you would come for me! The whole thing is a trap!" babbled Nico, trying to edge away.

"Wait, who? Who's _she?_" nervously asked Reyna, slowly unsheathing her sword. If the whole thing was obviously a trap, like Nico said, then there weren't many Greeks who could attempt something like this...

Reyna's mind was interrupted as she was punched in the stomach by a curly-haired blonde girl, who was none other than Annabeth Chase. Surprised, Nico threw himself onto the ground to get himself out of harm's way.

Groaning, Reyna dropped her imperial gold sword, and clutched her stomach. With a yell, Annabeth swung around to do a roundhouse kick, with her right foot impacting Reyna's left cheek. Reyna grunted in pain, moving her other hand to cup her cheek.

"OW! Chase, what was that for?!" bellowed Reyna, whose eyes were alight in rage.

"Sorry! All's fair and love and war!" smirked Annabeth, taking up a judo-stance fighting position.

"OH, IT'S SO ON!" screamed the praetor, shrugging off her woodsy jacket. A tank-top was underneath, considering that Reyna found it most appropriate for combat.

The two barely-pseudo-adults took up stances, and started circling each other. Out of the corner of Reyna's eye, she could see Nico throwing himself against a nearby tree trunk, trying to saw himself out of his binds. Annabeth was wearing nothing but beige short-shorts, and a crop-top, with combat camouflage painted over herself. With a shock, Reyna realized that was the reason she didn't notice Annabeth until now. The daughter of Athena maximized every single paint-cover over herself in order to stay hidden in the trees... or bushes... or whatever.

"I didn't expect you to get this dirty," began Reyna, throwing a punch at Annabeth's left shoulder. The girl deflected it, and swung another kick at Reyna.

"Ah, I just needed some one-on-one time to knock you out," smirked the daughter of Athena. "And if you're looking for Percy, he's not here..."

That was what Reyna thought. Annabeth's pride lured her to be alone in this grove, to face Reyna in battle. But Annabeth wouldn't let that go too far to her head; she certainly would have plenty of back-up plans nearby. But that was counting on Reyna being alone... If Nico could get out of his binds, it might be able to change the tide of the battle.

For now, all Reyna could do was to keep Annabeth occupied... Or, disable her somehow...

Scanning the grove, Reyna noticed some tangled tree roots nearby. That could be useful... With a goal in her mind, Reyna feinted a swing at Annabeth's left leg, and the daughter of Athena threw it up to intercept. As she recoiled, Reyna threw her entire weight toward Annabeth's stomach. A loud _OMPF_ was elicited from both demigods as they landed hard on the floor. Reyna felt fire shoot through her right leg as Annabeth's weight crushed the top of it.

The daughter of Athena whipped around, and threw Reyna into a squeeze-hold, using her legs to pin Reyna's arms and now-burning legs down.

"Yield!" growled Annabeth, as Reyna resisted the growing pressure.

"Not on my life, Chase!" retorted Reyna, pushing up into a somersault with all her might, making Annabeth's back hit the ground with a _clack! _While Annabeth screamed in pain, Reyna used her remaining good leg to pin down the daughter of Athena. With a grunt, Annabeth threw her head back, impacting an upper area that Reyna wasn't too fond of being hit in.

"OWOWOW!" howled Reyna, clutching the right part of her chest. Slowly, both women rolled away from each other, and struggled to get up. Reyna had to admit that Annabeth packed one heck of a punch. This was proving to be more difficult than she originally thought.

"N-not bad," Reyna groaned, trying to keep weight on her good leg. It was SO going to sting in the morning, but it was worth it. Normally, Reyna would be able to take and deal with that kind of combat, but since Annabeth's skills were just about as good as hers, pain was inevitable.

"W-well, credit to you too," stammered Annabeth, holding a hand over her back.

Reyna had no idea on just how she was going to be able to lead Annabeth to the tree roots. Surprisingly, a loud_ swack_ was heard, as the daughter of Athena's eyes lolled up into her head, and she collapsed onto the ground. Right behind Annabeth, Reyna saw a panting Nico, who was holding a broken branch club. The son of Hades' eyes looked crazed, like he had been through something horrible.

"W-what took you so long?" panted Reyna, trying to keep her dignity up.

"While you and owl-head over there were fighting," began Nico, gesturing to an unconscious Annabeth, "I had to drag myself through a thorn bush, a jag-raw plant, and the root of a tree just to get myself out!"

Reyna could see where Nico was coming from, considering the fact that he appeared to have some bloody lines across his arms, and some thorns stuck in his hips. It was like he picked a fight with a Bandersnatch, and lost. Yes, Reyna did see Alice in Wonderland during this Camp Jupiter/Camp Half-Blood sponsored field-trip to Broadway... Long story.

"Anyway, before you got interrupted, I was trying to say that at least half of the soldiers were prowling Zeus' Fist!" stated Nico, while dropping the tree trunk. "There's sentries all over the creek, and Percy's there as well..."

Reyna thought that it was rather interesting of Annabeth. Obviously, Athena's daughter knew that Nico would be gunning for the most likely places to snag the flag first. Percy was placed at the creek, to protect the boundary line, due to him being the whole son-of-Poseidon package thing. And of course, Annabeth wanted to face Reyna herself, so she hid in the grove, lying in wait.

"And if I may, I think we should hurry," groaned Nico, interrupting Reyna's thoughts. "I can shadow-travel us close to the creek, but I don't know what we'll face there..." With that, the son of Hades pressed a hand to the ground, and muttered something to himself.

Reyna felt a chill sweep across her, as a dark shadow emerged from the ground, and wrapped itself onto Nico's hand. The shadow dissipated, molding itself into the gauntlet that Nico sometimes carried, to summon the armies of the dead. Reyna had to admit that it was pretty cool.

"Nico, don't you think we're forgetting something?" nodded Reyna, gesturing to the flag, which was sitting ten feet away.

"Oh, yeah! After you!" gestured Nico, as Reyna limped up to the flag, and snatched it off its pole. Reyna could feel agony ripping across her as she slowly slid back down the mound.

"Whoa, hey!" cooed Nico, as he caught Reyna's good arm. "You stay close to me, okay?"

"Does it look like I have any other choice?" moaned Reyna, as Nico started dragging her to the nearest cluster of shadows. Well, more darker shadows than usual, since it was night.

"I hope Annabeth is going to be okay," Reyna murmured, as the daughter of Athena muttered in her sleep.

"She's taken a lot more knocks than that, and you know it," said Nico, preparing to shadow-jump.

Reyna knew that Annabeth would be okay. She didn't have any idea why she said that in the first place, anyway... Weird. Maybe it was the painful hard knocks that both demigods had received... But maybe it was the dreams of Tartarus that made Reyna concerned. She didn't know whether Annabeth could have them while she was knocked out like that, or not. The game was probably going to end soon, anyway.

Reyna felt like a stick was poking her backside, as Nico threw her into the realm of shadows. She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering Nico's warnings about dissipating into that realm. Voices cried out, ushering Reyna to come join them. No, she was stronger than that. She was a Ramirez-Arellano!

Reyna felt her stomach lurch, as the real world greeted her. Nico shadow-jumped out of a oak tree's shadow, and Reyna could see the roaring waves of the creek just yards away. Luckily, she landed lightly on her good arm, while Nico did a tuck-roll. The son of Hades thrust his gauntlet-hand forward, scanning for any threats.

Reyna gazed around. There didn't seem to be anything. With a groan, she struggled up to her feet, clutching the flag tightly. Nico put a hand around her, slowly edging her to cross the creek.

A guerrilla-yell nearly made Reyna jump out of her skin. A hundred yards away, she could see several Greek demigods bolting for the creek, holding her flag in their hands. They were flanked by over two-dozen soldiers, all with spears held high.

"_Schist,"_ muttered Nico. "Come on Reyna, we can do this!"

"Yes, I know that! We're about to cross the creek anyway!" stated Reyna, desperately trying to hobble faster.

All of a sudden, the ground rumbled, and a wall of water shot up from the creek. Reyna could see a figure leaping from it, and doing a roll. The form of Percy Jackson came into Reyna's view, as the son of Poseidon landed softly in the grass. Nearly a hundred Greeks burst from the treeline surrounding the creek, each with various spears, swords, maces, bows, and so forth, adorning their hands.

"Hey guys!" exclaimed Percy, "I didn't think you would come so soon! Meet my friends, Greek one, Greek two, Greek three..." he droned on.

With a roar, Nico threw his gauntlet, and it started glowing purple. Bones materialized from the ground, surrounding Reyna. Nearly all the Greeks stumbled and fell, but Percy still stood fast. The bones all morphed in various shapes and sizes, to create nearly two-hundred American Patriot soldiers.

"ATTACK!" ordered Nico, as his mini-army assaulted the still-recovering Greeks. Reyna felt relief for once. They would only have to deal with Percy now...

"Not on my watch!" yelled Percy, raising his hands. The waves surrounding him started to form into two massive fists, each curling into a _punch-me-now_ position.

Reyna wondered just how in her mother's name they were going to be able to get past that. Astonishingly, Nico answered that question for her. The son of Hades slammed into Percy with a battle-cry, dragging him into the creek. The son of Poseidon was so surprised, that he lost concentration over the water. The fists collapsed, splashing Reyna with literally tons of gallons of water. Reyna was pensive on whether she was going to die of pneumonia and broken bones by morning.

With Percy now occupied, and Reyna now soaking wet, she started crawling toward the creek border with her hands. It was barely three feet away. Unfortunately, the demigods carrying her flag were now five meters away after the whole debacle. Reyna prayed with all her might to her mom. She needed just one _more_ ounce of strength. A warm feeling started coursing through her body, tiptoeing all the way to her feet.

_"You are not alone, Reyna. I am here, and I will always be," _boomed a voice in Reyna's head. With a smile, Reyna knew it just had to be Bellona. Her mom was really there after all!

Using her newfound strength, Reyna made a running jump, leaping over Percy and Nico, who were duking it out with swords. A loud _POP_ resonated throughout the woods, as the CHB flag changed its color to a shade of purple and black. At that instant, the other Greek demigods made it across, one second too late.

"NOOOO!" cried Percy, dropping to his feet and sobbing dramatically.

"Ah, you'll get over it!" grinned Reyna, holding her newly-captured flag up proudly. Nearly everyone around her started groaning and mumbling, wallowing in the shade of defeat. Only Nico hollered a whoop of victory.

Chiron emerged from the woods, with nearly twenty gods trailing him, all clapping. Reyna had to wonder whether any of them had made bets on this match.

"The victory goes to Reyna Ramirez-Arellano and Nico di Angelo!" announced Chiron, as nine of the gods handed him several dozen drachmas. It looked like the centaur was going to be happy tonight...

The din of the celebrations all rang through Reyna's ears, as it started disorientating her. Reyna could feel the energy that Bellona gave her start to slowly sap away. With a shake, she fell to her knees. The cries of Percy and Nico reached her ears, as both demigods climbed out of the creek.

Blinking, Reyna could see nothing but black shadows as she collapsed to the ground, worn out from the pain.

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**I spent quite the effort on this chapter! I hope that you guys liked a lot! Prepare for next block of chapters coming soon! Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite!**


	29. XXIX: Hazel

**Hey guys! This should be an interesting chapter, since it's very actiony, again.. I also apologize in advance for what I'm about to do... But you'll find out later in this chapter.**

**Reviews:**

**Guest of Chapter 28: I do appreciate the comment! Nico's bisexuality is an option, since Rick NEVER said outright that he was only gay. Nico DOES have the option to be bisexual, so I'm using it for this story... And there are several reasons why. You'll find out in later books... Heh...**

**Guest of Chapter 1: What in the name of flying Hades are you talking about? I'm not sure just what you're even saying in the first place about racism... I haven't ever shown it in this book... Elaborate?**

**Lovedystopia: So my assumption was correct :D. I just KNEW the chapter would make you gush... But this chapter is going to give you nothing but feels... OF PAIN. After all, blowing off boring school projects for chapters like those are totally worth it! (LOL, not really, but you know what I mean...) I honestly am afraid this chapter will make you be unable to sleep tonight... So I'm going to feel bad... But not really, since I am practicing to be the king of trolls! SYNR (R stands for review :P)**

**Without further ado...**

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**XXIX: Hazel**

**Hazel was thankful that she took some judo lessons. **It was proving especially helpful, since dozens of cyclopes were trying to throw themselves on Hazel.

Next to Hazel, Jason wasn't doing so well. The son of Jupiter was holding a broken boat rail in his hand, and using it to smack waves of incoming dracanae. But it was useless against the incoming _mardai _and _venti._ Piper and Lou Ellen were nearby, doing the same thing.

The _mardai_ gave Hazel the creeps. She had no idea where they came from, or why they could only be killed by literal backstabbing. Seeing the figure of Octavian amongst them was extremely disorientating, since Hazel held a grudge against him for practically blackmailing her. That, and he tried to kill all of the Greeks. She remembered when her dad, Pluto, swooped in to rescue her a few days ago. Great, for an immortal who was absent for much of Hazel's life, it was an interesting father-daughter gesture.

Hazel's blank expression was replaced by one of surprise, as an incoming _mardai_ twisted itself to be her mother, Queen Marie.

"_Useless child... You were worthless... Nothing but a curse!"_ cackled Queen Marie, extending her hands into talons.

Hazel felt too choked up to do anything. She was struggling to register that it wasn't her mother, but the words dug deep in her. Was that what her mother really thought of her? Nothing but a cursed child, unworthy of her affections? With a clatter, Hazel dropped the wooden stick she was holding, and stumbled to the ground. The _mardai_ closed in, with an evil grin on its face.

Why was it that every time a familiar enemy appeared in the _mardai,_ Hazel kept collapsing? She didn't know, but those horrible creatures intimidated her, forcing her to remember her terrible past. As Queen Marie closed in, her eyes went limp, and she disappeared in a _puff._

"You're welcome!" yelled Piper, as a small stake of wood clattered to the ground. The daughter of Aphrodite then dived back into the incoming wave of monsters, wacking them with every random thing she could find.

Huh, so even mortal objects could work against the _mardai_? Hazel thought that it was going to be useful. Unfortunately, the crazy woman from earlier who ordered all these monsters to attack, decided to interrupt.

"Ahaha!" cackled the woman in the purple dress, summoning a ball of fire, and throwing it at Hazel.

Hazel's eyes widened as she threw herself onto the floor of the dock, with the fire barely missing her head. A loud _boom_ echoed across the skyline of Nashville as a ten-foot long hole of blackened earth sizzled behind Hazel. Oh, this seemed to be such a perfect time for more trauma. Hazel was still shaken up over being jailed like one of those criminals, and then Hermes had to suddenly rescue her in a jailbreak attempt.

Now, in the middle of all this chaos, Hazel found herself missing Frank. Admittedly enough, she was taken aback by her recent IM to him. Which, by the way, showed him riding on Festus with Leo and Calypso for some apparent reason. After a quick exchange, Frank closed the IM, mumbling something about _food._

_"_Why the heck would Hermes just leave us here to fend for ourselves, with no weapons?!" screamed Lou Ellen, who was currently smashing the head of a cyclops with a potted plant. Something told Hazel that the daughters of Ceres wouldn't appreciate that...

"Foolish demigods! I am Eris, goddess of chaos! You will bow to me!" bellowed the silver-eyed lady, who was now Eris.

"No thanks!" cried Hazel, spinning around and smashing a weird goblin-hybrid thingie with her left foot.

Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen all shouted out varying degrees of agreement, which seemed to agitate Eris. The goddess prowled up and down the top deck of the boat, shouting out orders for even more monsters to attack.

With a howl, two dozen cyclopes burst out of the lido deck. They muttered something about having tasty demigods for a snack, which worried Hazel.

Hazel was running out of random objects to use. Gritting her teeth, she backed up fifteen feet away from the advancing cyclopes. Taking a deep breath, Hazel concentrated on the one thing she could still use: the Mist. Waving her hands, she willed every ounce of Mist magic that she could summon. Next to her, Lou Ellen seemed to have the same idea, as wisps of white smoke enveloped some nearby _venti._ With a sigh, Hazel clenched her fists, bending the Mist around the dirty cyclopes. The ugly creatures looked mystified by the white smoke that was now enveloping them. With a scream, all two dozen of them plunged through the stone street, fading into darkness.

"AGH! Do anything you can to delay them!" ordered Eris, gesturing for five dog-headed men to jump off the boat. "I must finish my ceremony! Whatever it takes, my master's essence will be restored!"

That didn't sound too good to Hazel. What in the world was Eris talking about...? Her master's essence? It sounded like something similar to what Rhea was saying about the cloud-orb thing. With that, Hazel realized something. Squinting her eyes, she took a closer look to where Eris was standing on the boat. There it was! The very same orb that was stolen was resting at her side! Hazel wondered just how the goddess managed to get her hands on it... Pluto's pauldrons, this was NOT going to be good...

With a _thud_, the dog-headed men crashed onto the dock port, interrupting Hazel's observation. They screamed like banshees, and leveled javelins at Lou Ellen. The daughter of Hecate was starting to have difficulty keeping all these creatures at bay.

Hazel's hair shot up like an arrow, as the wind started howling. Fifteen feet away, Jason was hovering off the ground, with Piper in his arms. The son of Jupiter let out a yell, and the breeze shot toward every creature within a five-hundred yard radius, shoving them into the river. The whole scene reminded Hazel of this "fad" show she saw once, called _Wipeout._

"Thanks!" stated Lou Ellen, picking up the last steel rod she could find.

"NO PROBLEM!" screamed Jason, raising his voice over the roar of the wind. Hazel could also faintly hear Piper using her charmspeak to _persuade_ any other monster stragglers to throw themselves into the river.

"Jason! You're pontifex, aren't you?!" Hazel yelled, trying to think of something.

"Yeah, so what?!" shot back the son of Jupiter, blasting some wild centaurs to ashes with lighting.

"Isn't there any gods you can summon? Any that can do you favors?!" suggested Hazel, punching a five-foot tall green creature that seemed to resemble play-dough. The green-skinned creature shrieked in pain, jumping into the nearby river.

"Don't you think I've tried?! It's like they've all left us!" Jason panicked, willing the wind to form a high-density tornado.

Taking in the scene, Hazel saw that most of the monsters were now gone. Only a few _venti_ remained high in the sky, and some dwarves were cowering in the shade of one of the boat's banners. Everyone, including herself, breathed a sigh of relief. Sadly, the temporary piece was interrupted by a very angry goddess.

"Must I do everything myself?!" howled Eris, leaping off the entire deck of the General Jackson Steamboat. Several dozen more monsters materialized out of nowhere, rushing to aid their goddess. Hazel had a moment of inertia, wondering where the heck all those monsters were coming from.

Hazel felt queasy as she realized that the woman was about to crash in the general area of where Jason and Piper were, fighting back-to-back against some newly-arrived hairy and foul-smelling creatures. The couple looked like they were about to strangle somebody, which was probably the case. Unfortunately, a crazy lady was about to throw herself on them, while cackling like a lunatic.

"Pipes! Jason! Watch it!" screamed Hazel, ducking another incoming cyclops.

Both Piper and Jason barely ducked out of the way before the woman slammed into the ground, with three feet's worth of stones flying in all directions. At that moment, a sound that Hazel never wanted to hear again had reappeared. In the corner of her vision, she saw some cop cars zoom up a nearby street, accompanied by some police choppers. On the opposite side of the riverbank, some mortals were taking videos with their phones.

"Filthy mortals..." growled Eris, conjuring up a black orb, and hurling it toward the direction of the incoming police cars.

A crackling _WHUMP_ resonated through Hazel's ears, making her wince in agony. Even though those annoying mortals kept interfering, it wasn't right for a crazy goddess to go on a killing spree. The thought of Eris doing that made Hazel sick to the stomach.

Speaking of sick, Hazel remembered when she caught the flu a few months ago. Amazingly enough, Frank took time out of his praetorship duties to comfort her, even going so far as to turn himself into a brown grizzly bear. Needless to say, a couple of hours spent cuddling did the trick.

The scream of mortals jarred Hazel out of her thoughts. To her horror, the police cars that Eris threw a orb at exploded, instantly killing the officers inside. This was crazy... This was just plain murder.

The mortals on the opposite side of the riverbank all started screaming, rushing away from the inferno of flames that was starting to spread.

"Eris! Why are you doing this?!" Hazel asked, trying to buy time.

"My master has promised me power beyond what you can comprehend! There's so much more than even your pathetic sacrifices can offer!" spat Eris, picking up a slab of heavy rock from the ground. The goddess hurled it at Jason and Piper, who were zipping and zagging in the air above the river.

"MISS!" cried Piper, as Jason flipped in the air, with the rock barely missing their heads by mere inches.

"Stay OUT of my way!" Eris bellowed, unleashing an arc of red tendrils at Jason and Piper.

Hazel stifled a cry in her throat as the duo was zapped, and starting freefalling into the river. Lou Ellen shouted a battle-cry of retribution, hurtling some Mist toward Eris. The goddess shrugged it off, and flicked Lou Ellen into a nearby bench. Just how much power did Eris have?! And for the gods not having to conform to ancient rules, where were they?!

In all the chaos, Hazel noticed the cloud-orb still sitting on the rail of the boat's top deck. If she could get it away, it could disrupt whatever Eris was planning. The goddess didn't seem to be paying attention to Hazel, but rather, she was stalking toward an unconscious Lou Ellen.

Summoning more strength, Hazel tried to draw the Mist toward her. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, and her concentration collapsed. The Mist fizzled and crackled in the air, before fading to nothingness.

"AWHAHAHA! You see? Even now, my master's plan for the Fates is working!" yelled Eris, with glee. The goddess turned toward Hazel, with a creepy grin transfixed on her face. "As we speak, his agents will shred the loom of the Fates!"

The loom of the Fates? That didn't sound too good to Hazel. And what was up with the Mist? Just earlier, it was working. But in jail, it wasn't. And just now, it faded yet again... Could this be the start of something very much bigger? As Eris prowled toward her, Hazel tried praying to everything she could think of. With Jason and Piper somewhere in the Tennessee River, and Lou Ellen collapsed on a bench, Hazel was running out of options.

It was now a do-or-die moment. Hazel screamed at the top of her lungs, making thousands of gems sprout from the earth. They all hurtled toward Eris, who howled in pain from the _plack plack plack_ of sharp rubies and emeralds. Any monster stragglers nearby were immediately disintegrated.

All the confusion made Hazel unaware of what was happening to her. Before she knew it, she was slapped across the face and hurtled to the ground by an angry Eris, who had teleported across. Hazel's back hit the ground at an arch, making a sickening _crack. _Eris planted a foot across Hazel's stomach, making her almost resist the urge to gag.

"I WILL finish my ceremony, and you will NOT interfere!" growled the goddess, picking up Hazel by the scruff of her neck. Hazel felt helpless. Her Mist control wasn't working, and the rest of her powers weren't cooperating either.

Hazel's stomach nearly did the Heimlich maneuver as the goddess threw her up to the top of a nearby lamppost, with magical shackles binding her wrists and legs. Eris was blindingly fast, even for a lesser-known goddess. And why didn't she want anyone interfering with the ceremony? After such a chaotic and wacky quest, was this the end?

"I could have prevented you from ever reaching here," smirked Eris, "Though, I did need one thing from you..."

With that, the goddess extracted out a small knife, flicking it across Hazel's left forearm. She screamed in pain, while Eris smiled in delight. The lunatic lady streaked back to the top of the boat with blinding speed, and snatched the orb in one of her hands.

Hazel could do nothing but watch on in horror. Did the Olympians even bother to pay attention right now? It wasn't like they were in a super-important meeting or wolfing down snacks...

"My master, the time has come..." Eris started, gazing up to the sky. "Though this cannot bring you back, I offer it as a start! Over the eons, I have been searching slowly, painfully, and crucially... Though this is little, it is the first step to return you to your former glory!"

With that, Eris laid the orb in the middle of the top deck, smearing some of Hazel's blood around it. The really creepy thing was that it reminded her of what happened in Athens two years ago, when the blood of Olympus was used to awaken Gaea. Now Hazel's blood would be serving a purpose. What was it even supposed to be used for? Eris herself said that it wouldn't summon anything... So what the heck?

A _splash_ got Hazel's attention. Turning her head away from a mumbling Eris, she saw half a dozen mortal divers leap into the Tennessee River, with emergency rescue vehicles sitting on the opposite bank. Oh, _gods..._ Hazel hoped that they were there to rescue Jason and Piper. Could they even have survived underwater that long?

The sound of chanting made Hazel turn her attention back toward Eris. The goddess stood alone, with all her monster allies having disappeared for some reason. The orb lifted into the air, sponging in Hazel's blood like an fish drawn to water. A rumbling started shaking in the streets, and the orb started spinning.

Hazel nearly had a hallucination when more of those fireworks appeared, streaking in the summer sky of Nashville. It all eminated from the orb, which started to spin. Eris was chanting some random stuff, which included something about _laema._ Hazel strained against her binds, but it was absolutely useless against Eris' magic. The orb wasn't doing any favors either, since it was spinning even faster and faster, with yellow streaks of light racing across its surface. A deafening roar washed across a five-mile radius, as the air slightly shimmered.

"Hey! You! Stop whatever weird chanting you're doing, and drop the knife!" yelled a voice, which came from a loudspeaker. A mobile police station was also set up across the riverbank, which was the source of the commotion.

A moment of inertia washed across Hazel as the orb stopped spinning, and shot straight up into the sky. Like a comet, it whirled through the clouds and dissolved into nothingness. For a crazy summoning ceremony, it was incredibly anti-climatic.

"My task is done," smiled Eris. The goddess pointed a finger across the riverbank, and the police platform exploded.

"You're heartless!" growled Hazel, trying to force herself off the lamppost.

"Ah, but that was the whole point, my dear," Eris grinned, walking across air, toward Hazel.

In the distance, Hazel could see the divers dragging an unconscious and soaking wet Jason and Piper out of the river. She thanked the gods for her friends' safety, besides the fact that they didn't seem to want to help...

"First off, I'll kill you... You're not really needed anymore..." shrugged Eris. "As for your friends over there, I'll kill them too, once I'm done with you..."

The goddess settled onto the ground, gliding toward the lamppost that Hazel was resting on. Eris smoothed her purple dress, and started filing her nails. It was almost like she was taking her time on the _Demigod Dessert_ menu.

"You could have killed us in the first place... So why didn't you lay waste to the city while you were at it?" Hazel asked, trying to buy herself some time.

"You and I both know why. That blasted Rhea would have sensed me if I set foot outside of the shield," snarled Eris, gesturing to the immediate area around the steamboat. "Even now, your gods cannot sense you. I took _extreme_ caution in setting up this instance..."

Eris snapped her fingers, and a five-foot long black sword appeared in her hands. She waved her arms, and drifted Hazel down to the ground. Hazel scooched away as far as she could, trying to get out of Eris' range. Something was seriously wrong here if goddesses could just go around killing that easily...

As Eris raised her blade for the killing blow, Hazel's last thoughts went to Frank. Maybe someday, she could meet him in the Underworld...

"AGOWWWWW!" howled the goddess, as she was tackled to the ground by a fully-conscious Lou Ellen. The daughter of Hecate must have regained conscious while Eris was occupied!

Spinning around, Eris slashed her blade at a still-recovering Lou Ellen. The magician barely had time to register the blood emanating from her stomach as the goddess hurtled her toward a storefront wall.

"NOOOOO!" shrieked Hazel, as Lou's eyes went limp.

Hazel felt insurmountable rage course through her, as she cracked through Eris' magic bonds. The goddess barely elicted a response of suprise before Hazel tackled her to the ground. She started punching Eris' face, making the goddess spit out immortal ichor.

Hazel barely registered a slap to the cheek, as Eris threw herself off. The angry goddess put on another burst of speed, ramming Hazel into the same storefront wall where Lou Ellen was dying at.

"THIS ENDS, NOW!" growled the goddess, leveling her sword against Hazel's heart.

As Hazel closed her eyes, Eris plunged the sword forward, with revenge intent on her face.

* * *

**Yeah... I'm cruel... If I get five reviews, I'll let Hazel and Lou Ellen live... (joking... or am I?) You'll have to wait to see what happens next! **


	30. XXX: Hazel

***IMPORTANT***

**Hey guys! At long last, we have reached the 30th chapter! WOOHOOO! *parties* I would like to thank you all for your support, as we approach 2/3 of book completion, which will occur at the end of Chapter 36! Wait, did you hear that right? 2/3? Yup! I decided that 72 chapters was a little too much for what I planned for the story. If I went that far, it would stretch out TOO much, and just bore you guys with unnecessary stuff. The book will end between chapter 52 and 60 sometime... Depending on what narrator I wrap up. **

**So, from here on this point, the POVs will be random, like Uncle Rick did for the House of Hades. It worked well for him, since multiple plots were going on. The same is occurring here, and I need the large range of narrators in order to arc my multiple plots across. It wouldn't do if Percy and Annabeth were back-to-back in linear order, and I would have to wait forever to get back to the main quest... Just so unnecessary. Don't worry! Percy will be coming soon... :D**

**Reviews:**

**lovedystopia: Yes, I'm cruel... And you'll just have to find out later in the story on who it is! I'm getting close to being 2/3 done with the book, providing that you read my message above... Many things are coming in store! Your theories are particulary interesting, and I'm intrugied by what you think. This is a very plotty chapter.. Heh, get it? SYNR!****bris38: Just read this chapter to find out what happens... :D. And you don't like Lou Ellen? Shame... I think that this chapter will make you like her a little bit better, though...**

**Court: Thanks for the review! Read this chapter to find out just what happens... *cackle* Yeah, it would have been funny to see Frank as a cuddly bear. Just thought that I would add a little bit of Frazel fluff in there, since the couple are apart... And Frank's kind of busy dodging the imperial-gold missile batteries that he motion-sensor tripped on...**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XXX: Hazel**

**The fact that Eris was drinking scummy water was great news for** **Hazel. **As the goddess was about to run her sword through Hazel's heart, the Tennessee River exploded into a rage of fury. Water swirled around the riverbank, and crashed into a surprised goddess of chaos. Eris was swept away in a current, struggling and cursing against the water's might.

"What is the meaning of this?!" howled Eris, losing the grip on her sword.

In response, the water cocooned her, slowly tightening and freezing its atoms. Hazel could only look on in surprise and pity. Ice started forming around the goddess, trickling up her arms. Eris thrashed and struggled, but she started slowing down.

The lunatic lady could only look upon Hazel with hatred on her face, before the ice creeped up on her. In mere seconds, Eris, goddess of chaos, had been reduced to nothing but an ice-block statue. Her entire body was encased in solid ice, with her head being the only thing not frozen. Unfortunately, said head was shouting curses and insults at Hazel.

Shakily breathing, Hazel slid down from the wall. Next to her, on the gravel floor, Lou Ellen's gasps were shallow. The daughter of Hecate was muttering incoherent words, with a blank look in her eyes. Her hands were shaking, trying to gesture to Hazel for support.

"Lou!" exclaimed Hazel, rushing to her friend's side. She couldn't believe that Lou Ellen had thrown herself in the way of Eris to try and save her.

"Well, that sucked, didn't it?" grumbled Lou, trying to control her breathing.

No, Hazel couldn't lose Lou, not now... After the Giant War she and the daughter of Hecate had become close friends, doing as much as they could. Even when Hazel was busy at Camp Jupiter, she tried to find the time to IM Lou sometimes. Sure, Piper and Annabeth were great, but Hazel felt a close connection to Lou Ellen. It did help that the both of them knew their way around the Mist, as well as having close ties with Hecate. Hazel couldn't put her finger around it, but Lou Ellen had this touch and understanding that others didn't have. Outside of the Seven, Lou was one of the few who tried to reach out to Hazel.

"Just hang in there Lou, I'll find something," Hazel muttered, trying to comfort the daughter of Hecate, and failing miserably at that.

"Hazel, you should just leave, I'm dead weight..." Lou groaned, clutching her stomach.

"Lou Ellen, I'm not leaving you, and you know it! Remember that mini-quest we took three months ago?! It was just the two of us in the Canadian wilderness, looking for Diana's sacred deer! Remember when the horns stabbed your left foot? Who was there to nurse you back to health, huh?!" yelled Hazel, trying to compose herself.

In response, Lou Ellen closed her eyes, and her breathing became even shallower.

"Dear gods! Lou!" screamed Piper, as the daughter of Aphrodite burst out of nowhere, still soaking wet.

Piper kneeled next to Hazel, inspecting Lou's wound. Hecate's daughter had a gash in the middle of her stomach, which was spewing out some sort of weird green ooze. Lou's face was slowly getting paler by the minute.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hazel could see Jason slowly walking over. The son of Jupiter looked happy, yet shell-shocked at the same time. He was also soaking wet from head to toe. Speaking of which, how did Piper and Jason get all the way over here in mere minutes? Hazel also wondered how they regained consciousness so quickly, and slipped out of the mortals' grasp as well. Eris decided to speak up, thus ruining the moment.

"Filthy mortals! I told you not to interfere!" spat Eris, struggling against the confines of her icy prison.

Slowly, Hazel rose to her feet, and strode over to the goddess of chaos. Arching her hand, she slapped Eris across the left cheek, making the goddess spew out golden blood from her mouth.

"OWWWW! I felt that! How could I feel that?!" shrieked Eris, jerking her head to the right.

"That one was for Lou, and this is for the others!" Hazel butted in, punching Eris squarely in the nose. The goddess howled, shaking her blonde hair, which was tied up in a messy ponytail.

"Hazel, seriously, lay it off..." began Jason, putting a hand around her back. "Punching a crazy woman will solve nothing..."

"But it doesn't help Lou!" cried Hazel, gesturing to Lou Ellen, who was hopefully still alive. Piper was trying to comfort the magician, but there wasn't much left to comfort.

"Listen, I have a friend coming, so just wait! Lou Ellen can hang in there, you know that?" Jason comforted, giving Hazel a side-hug.

"How can your so called friend even help? My friend is dying, and there's nothing we can do about it!" moaned Hazel. At that moment, a load _roar_ interrupted Hazel's monologue.

Behind Hazel, columns of water shot up from the Tennessee River, twisting and turning in the air. The water swirled into a drill-like motion, racing across the riverbank front. The air around Hazel increased in humidity, making her feel like she had leaped inside a microwave.

Five feet away from Hazel and Eris, the water solidified into the figure of a man that was six feet tall. He had lightly-tanned skin, a brown beard, and was wearing a Greek toga over a pair of cargo shorts. Hazel thought that it was an interesting fashion statement.

"Dave!" cried Jason, sprinting over to give the water-dude a bro hug.

"CURSE YOU!" Eris bellowed, making rude faces at Dave.

"Hey now! That's no way to chill against my main man, Jason!" scolded Dave, waving a hand. Ice formed over Eris' mouth, effectively shutting up the goddess.

"Jason... who is this guy?" Hazel asked, protectively resting a hand against Lou Ellen.

"Oh, this is Dave, god of the Tennessee River! I met him, like, seven months ago on this survey to discover more unknown deities... Apparently, he's this distant cousin of the East River back in New York!" Jason exclaimed. "When we fell in the water, I tried praying to him. Believe or not, he said that he owed me a favor... So here we are, alive and conscious!"

Hazel blinked. All of them must have been incredibly lucky for Dave to be able to hear Jason in time. What was even better was the fact that the god froze Eris into a popsicle for them.

"B-but, how did you even overpower Eris?" stuttered Hazel, trying to comprehend the situation. She was pretty sure that Dave, a minor river god, had far less power than the goddess of chaos could have.

"Let me tell ya a little story, girlie," drawled Dave. "Many years ago, even before I existed, Hera got all angry and stuff. Well, maybe I should be a 'lil more specific. She kind of hated Hephaestus at the time, and didn't want to do anything with him. I'm telling ya, she didn't even attend that mother-son socialization dance!"

"Can you get to the point?" grumbled Piper, soothingly rubbing Lou Ellen's forehead.

"Hey there, no need to get your panties in a wad, 'lil gal. As I was saying, Hephaestus got all mad, and decided to make a trap out of a golden throne. Needless to say, 'ol Hera was fooled, and sat in it. And presto! One trapped goddess, served right up! A god's power can get incapacitated if you trap 'em!" smiled Dave, running a hand through his wavy hair.

A loud _mmmppff_ of protest was elicited from Eris, as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

"Oh yes! I know what'll make this gal smile!" Dave boomed, conjuring up a fake mustache, and planting it across Eris' upper lip. The goddess shook her head in rage, muffling out sounds that seemed to be cuss words, which had to make Hazel blush.

Hazel thought that it was hilarious, considering that the goddess tried to kill them all. She normally wasn't one for revenge, but with Lou dying, she felt like doing evil things to the goddess. Perhaps Nemesis was whispering in her ears, making her feel those emotions...

"Right, Dave, can you heal her?!" worriedly asked Piper, gesturing to Lou Ellen.

"Eh, that's a 'lil difficult to do... She's kinda outta there," muttered Dave. "But by all means, if that can help out my mate, Jason... I'll try!"

"Then do it!" Hazel screamed. She admonished herself for not paying attention to her dying friend just moments earlier.

"Whoa, your emotions are running pretty high, 'lil miss... But here I go..." Dave said, clapping his hands together.

Dave crouched down next to the daughter of Hecate, creating motion gestures with his hands. Water vapor buzzed in the air, slowly forming into a solid mass. To Hazel, it looked like the water was forming into one giant band-aid. With a grunt, Dave the river god thrust his right hand forward, and the band-aid of water wrapped itself around Lou Ellen's gash.

Hazel, Jason, and Piper all breathed a sigh of relief as the water started dissolving the green ooze. The wound started shrinking smaller and smaller, and the blood surrounding it started to clear up.

Lou Ellen's eyes flew open, and the girl suddenly shot up, slamming her face into Dave.

The god howled, and clutched his poor nose. Hazel winced in sympathy for Dave. He was being truly helpful, and the first thing he got from a girl he saved from death was one whopper of an impact. Hazel could hear Eris stifle a snicker from her ice-pseudo-duct-tape muzzle. Right then, Piper and Jason reached out to slap the goddess on both of her cheeks. The snicker was replaced by a cry of pain.

"Ah, would you mind telling me why's there's a screaming goddess in front of me?" questioned Lou Ellen, rubbing her forehead. "Also, who's this hunk of a guy making suggestive moves? Not that I'm totally complaining..."

Hazel rushed forward, enveloping Lou Ellen into a big hug. Piper looked on with a smile, as Jason wrapped an arm around her waist.

"MMPH! Hazel, since when did you get all lovey-dovey?" Lou Ellen grumbled, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Right, sorry. I thought I was going to lose you there..." smiled Hazel, lightly punching the daughter of Hecate on her right shoulder.

"A'ight, since we're still at it, mind tending on my nose?!" Dave exclaimed, interrupting the moment. "I try doing a heck 'a good deed, and this is what happens... Girl's got some muscles, I'll give you that..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry dream-, I mean... guy?" started Lou Ellen, looking flustered.

"Ah, it's not a problem. Just be careful next time, and watch my main man, Jason.. A'ight?" stated Dave.

"Listen, man," began Jason, "I appreciate what you did for us... Just let me know if you ever need anything else, and I'll bump up that due date for the renovation of your shrine, okay?"

Hazel looked at this conversation with awe. It seemed like Jason was busier with his position of pontifex maximus than she originally thought. Who knew that the son of Jupiter's outreach of helping a minor river god would save them all? Hazel mentally reminded herself to remove the defenition of minor from her head. Dave's role in helping them certainly wasn't minor- it saved their life.

"It's not a problem, my man," nodded Dave. The god's expression grew darker, however. "There's one thing you all should know, though. In lieu of recent events, I believe that the Third Great Prophecy's motions are starting to begin... Your task is long and arduous. Whispers from my fellow naiads have proved that something big is stirring..."

Eris decided to butt in with a fit of laughter. Clearly not amused, and throwing on a serious face, Dave ripped off her muzzle, making the goddess howl in agony.

"That HURT, you know?!"

"Not the point, goddess. Now, I believe that those young demigods have a question to ask..." Dave started, gesturing for Hazel to speak.

"Eris, we all want to know this... Where are the Fates?" snarled Hazel, wanting to get this over and done with already.

"AHAHAHA! You really think that I would tell you that easily?! Why would I even attempt to do this? I gain nothing, and my master will rise again, against any cost! You little _fools_ have no idea what is about to happen in the creation of things... The ancients are stirring, and they shall rise once more, consuming the throes of Mother Earth!" rambled the goddess, cackling like a lunatic.

As Lou Ellen rose up on her feet, she shared a look with Hazel, Piper, and Jason. In the short distance, Hazel could see the message that was evident on Lou's face. With a surge, all four demigods stepped close to Eris, and punched the goddess in every major part of her face. Hazel could hear Dave roar in laughter, as the god tried to contain himself.

"AWAH! Don't any of you have any decency?!" Eris snarled, with immortal ichor starting to steadily leak across her face. Earlier, it was a slow trickle, but it was starting to really gush now.

"Yeah, well, I don't think you had any decency to not kill us," sighed Piper, crossing her arms.

Hazel had to agree with Piper. Even on all her various quests, Hazel had never encountered a goddess who was as violent, mentally unstable, and bloodthirsty as Eris was. Not to mention, the goddess was being as stubborn as a mule, refusing to disclose sensitive information. The scarier thing, however, was Dave's ominous warning... The river god had said that he sensed the events of the Third Great Prophecy starting in motion... And if Hazel's senses were correct, this one could turn out to be even deadlier and dangerous than ever before.

With a shock, a shred of information clicked in Hazel's head. _Royal Prison, Fate and gain..._ Could that line of the prophecy be possibly talking about the Fates?! They were kidnapped, weren't they? In a prison could refer to the Fates' place of confinement...

The sound of Eris' grinding teeth jarred Hazel out of her thoughts.

"Are you going to tell us now?" asked Jason, inspecting his fingernails.

"NEVER! I will-," began Eris, as Dave put a finger to Eris' mouth. The river god whispered something in the goddess of chaos' left ear, making her face pale.

"I-," started Eris, as Dave withdrew. "I-it is difficult to say... I can't compromise..."

"Would you like me to tell _him?_" threatened Dave. Hazel wondered who _him_ was.

"T-the only thing I can say... You'll find the old grannies... In the eye of the needle..." groaned Eris, who obviously disliked having to leak this information.

"The eye of the needle?" Hazel questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, I'm all for hunting down super-important people, but isn't sticking them into a needle or something a little bit unorthodox?" stated Lou Ellen, who was rubbing her stomach uncomfortably.

"UGH! It's a form of figurative speech! I REFUSE to tell you any more! And I don't care about the consequences! Whatever _he_ is doing," started Eris, glaring pointedly at Dave, "Cannot be worse than the wrath of my master... My job is done, and I require no more..."

That whole speech-thing sounded creepy to Hazel. Now, what was it all about, the eye of the needle? Eris said that it was a figurative form of speech... So where in the entire United States would something related to a needle be found? If Hazel remembered right, the Fates used a needle to weave their loom... This was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack... Quite possibly, literally. Now, with the first objective of their quest complete, Hazel had no idea where they were supposed to search next.

"Well, a'ight then, I guess we'll just leave ya here, and I'll tend to those demigods," shrugged Dave.

"Do all you like... It's too late for any of you now... You'll never be able to save the Fates before the _first stage_ begins... If my master had mercy, he would spare me in the future..." sighed Eris, shrugging as best as she could in the confines of her icy prison.

The first stage? That sounded like bad news to Hazel. Most of all, the goddess of chaos looked like she had given up. Eris looked content to wallow in her frozen prison of ice quite contentedly. It reminded Hazel of the time in Canada, where a Hermes camper had tagged along on her mini-quest with Lou Ellen. By the time they got to the deer, the poor camper had become a frozen popsicle.

"Well, I'm all for cheerful doom!" piped up Piper, rubbing her hands. "But I think we need to get going and stuff... We're burning daylight!"

"Hey, I just follow what the lady does," shrugged Jason, keeping an eye on Lou Ellen, who seemed to have a slight limp.

"Goodbye, Eris..." gruffly said Dave, waving his hand. The goddess of chaos stifled a sigh, as she faded into the breeze.

"Wait, what happened to her?" Hazel questioned, wondering just how Dave managed to do that.

"Oh, she's in a safe place in my river domain... I made this special _happy_-time place just for mentally-challenged lunatic goddesses! Nah, not really. It's just a sort of jail or something for so-called enemies of mine..." Dave muttered, seemingly lost in thought.

"So, what now? I guess we just keep on hunting for somewhere we have no idea of?" suggested Lou Ellen, slowly walking around. "Also, why is my stomach still feeling funny?"

As Dave proceeded to ramble on about the health side-effects of healing, Hazel noticed a brochure stand nearby. Tiptoeing up to it, she realized that it was a tourist rack full of destinations to visit in the United States. One of the brochures detailed information about Seattle... Squinting her eyes, a lightbulb clicked in Hazel's head. It all made sense now... Not to mention that Hazel visited Seattle on her quest to free Thanatos, two and a half years ago.

"Guys, I think we just found the Fates..." called Hazel, motioning for the others to come.

"What do you mean?" questioned Lou Ellen, limping over to Hazel's side. Piper, Jason, and Dave all scratched their heads, motioning for Hazel to continue. With a shrug, Hazel pointed at a prominent picture at the top of the brochure. The Seattle Space Needle adorned the space, with the captioning saying: _Take a ride on the needle today!_

"Huh, that explains a lot..." muttered Jason. "So, who's up for a trip to the Northwest?"

Hazel had to pinch her nose. This was NOT her best day.

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**Welp, Lou survives, and the gang is heading to Seattle! Stay tuned for more... Mahahaha...**


	31. XXXI: Hazel

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you! A little bit shorter, but it conveys the point I need to get across. They're on their way to Seattle, so woohoo!**

**Reviews: **

**lovedystopia: That's awesome to hear! As you know, I enjoy airplanes alot. Space, I also enjoy :D. About Dave being the Tennessee River, it's quite plausible, you know? Like in the Last Olympian, Percy met the river gods in New York during Kronos' invasion, so it's basically the same concept. Plus, Dave did owe Jason one! As for Dave's power, I believe that all water gods or demigods born from water gods should be able to freeze ice. Ice is formed by atom molecules slowing down in water, and they should AT LEAST have the power to control that kind of water motion... So yeah. About Eris, you'll see :D. I actually hint a little bit in this chapter on what is to come with her/why she was so murderous, which was TOTALLY planned way before your review (swear on the Styx!). Yeah, Lou's okay, and you'll soon see why she's okay. And yeah, she's super-awesome! Just going all rebel gangster style on those monsters! SYNR!**

**Court: Yup, good 'ol Lou is okay! If I had concept art, I would show you what Dave looks like... But yeah xD. To you, he'll probably be hot. The Space Needle will come soon, so stay tuned for that! **

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus belongs to Rick "Troller" Riordian. **

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**XXXI: Hazel**

**So much for help.** That's what Hazel thought as she reined in Arion, zooming away from Nashville. Her horse had finally reappeared after all the chaos, looking content. Hazel suspected that Arion was having a fling with one of those mares he was eyeing last week, but the horse wasn't giving any indications.

"I guess we gotta be more careful!" yelled Jason, who had the unfortunate position of sitting on the very back of Arion's flank. "Remember what Dave said!"

Hazel remembered Dave's warning right before they left. After all the chaos that Eris had caused, Dave the river god took them to his little palace-house in his river. There, he gave Hazel and her friends supplies, including clothes, food, and weapons. After that, the god had given Hazel some news that she didn't want to hear.

_"Y'all should know this- I've gotten a telepathic message from Lord Zeus. I'm afraid to be 'em bearer of bad news, but we've been forbidden to directly interfere anymore... Since y'all are getting close to 'dem Fates, Zeus doesn't want to face 'er wrath for the breaking of 'em ancient_ laws..."

Not only that, but Dave had pulled Hazel aside for a personal request.

_"Listen, if ya can find out who's behind all this, do 'ol Dave a favor, okay? I know that Eris has been... violent..."_

_Hazel had to snort. That was an understatement._

_"But anyway, my 'ol point is this- she shouldn't be normally up to all this business. I knew her, once, long ago. You could say it was no coincidence that the whole summoning thing had to happen right 'er in my river."_

_"What do you mean, no coincidence?" Hazel questioned, raising her eyebrows._

_"Um, er, you could say that the goddess and I had a... well... relationship, once. I know her well. Something's influencing or controlling her- that much I know."_

_Hazel started to blush, and began fanning herself. She never got the notion of, well, certain things outside of marriage. Like it or not, she still retained some of her old values. The new motions of the twenty-first century was still new to Hazel, which overwhelmed her. She still had no idea how those iPads were relevant to the 'electronic' revolution._

_"Um, well, I won't ask, but I'll try my best..." muttered Hazel, shooting a look at Lou Ellen, who was nearby._

_"If there's something that ya should be knowing 'bout that girl," began Dave, motioning to Lou Ellen. "I have no idea how I even healed her... My powers ain't even up to Apollo-level healing__. Something weird is up, and I got no idea how it's so..."_

_"That's... odd... I thought something was up too..." sighed Hazel, watching on as the daughter of Hecate started having an argument with Jason and Piper._

Now here they all were, racing towards Seattle on Arion. Lou Ellen was sitting directly behind Hazel, and Piper was sandwiched between her and Jason. Even though that the world could potentially be ending again, Hazel couldn't help but feel happy. Here she was, riding on her beloved horse with some of her dearest friends taking a hitchhike with her.

Dave had also warned Hazel about some of the side-effects that Lou Ellen would be feeling. He had said that the daughter of Hecate would have stomach pains due to the larger-than normal gash incision from Eris' blade. Lou was lucky to be alive, and Hazel would eternally be thankful to Dave for that. Who knew a minor river god would end up being a big hero?

"Any idea where we are?" Piper asked, as Jason's arms were snaked around her waist.

"No idea! In the direction we're running at, I'll say we could overshoot Missouri any time!" said Hazel, kicking Arion on.

"Yeah, well, can you make this ride less bumpier?" Lou Ellen suggested, clutching her stomach. It was dressed with some sterile white bandages, at Piper's insistence.

"I'm sorry Lou, but you know we got to rescue the Fates ASAP!" Hazel yelled, while stroking Arion's mane. Believe it or not, one of the newfangled expressions that Hazel enjoyed was ASAP. Apparently, it stood for "as soon as possible" or something... Who knew?

It had been an hour since they left Nashville, and Hazel was having a blast. Besides almost dying, that was. She had Arion run at various speeds here and there, from a slow trot, to speeds exceeding hundreds of miles an hour. But Hazel was definitely going to up the speed ante now- there wasn't any more time to waste. But most of all, what would happen in the future?

Whatever happened in the future, Hazel was hopeful that the strength of both camps combined would prevail. There couldn't be anything much worse than Gaea, could there? Queen Dirt-Face had made Hazel's life miserable, but she still trumped that.

With that, Hazel thought about the Third Great Prophecy. Admittedly, it had been an incredible shock for herself and her friends, as well as the gods. Python was still coiled up in the caverns of Delphi, blocking Apollo, his kids, and Rachel's gift. Zeus had refused a quest to slay Python, instead muttering something about needing a break from two quick wars in succession. Secretly, Hazel thought that it was part of Zeus' punishment to Apollo- the refusal of his reinstatement of prophecy. But here came another prophecy, and no one had any idea how it came through. Hazel suspected that Python allowed this through, for once. But what would the great serpent gain by releasing a prophecy?

Hazel's head started to hurt. No, she was thinking too much. To make herself feel better, she reminded herself of what Leo said: "_I try not to think too much, ya know? I just leave it all up to my incredibly hot ray of sunshine!_

Oh, Leo... Hazel was incredibly relieved that the son of Hephaestus had been able to take the physician's cure. Most of all, he got the happy ending with Calypso, which had to make her heart melt. Besides the normal monster-trying-to-kill-them scenario, that was.

Farmlands after farmlands whizzed by Hazel's vision. She could see forests upon forests stretched across the horizon, with green grasses decorating the landscape. Wooden farms dotted vast wheatfields, and the rural country made Hazel feel nostalgia. Even though this particular countryside was no Alaska, the absolute silence and scarceness of people reminded Hazel of it. Sure, she didn't like Alaska much, but still.

Up in the distance, Hazel could see a tiny dot growing larger by the second.

"What is that?" asked Lou Ellen, peeping over Hazel's shoulder. "Seriously, it looks like a limping dude or something..."

With shock, Hazel realized that it WAS something that was limping. She pulled back Arion's reins, and the horse bit back a whinny of protest. Arion slowed down to a trot, and trailed the limping figure by a couple of meters.

"Wha-," began Jason, struggling to pull out his homemade gladius. The son of Jupiter rolled off Arion with a _thud, _and began sauntering over to the figure.

Looking closer, Hazel realized that the figure had yellow skin and four arms. _A monster._

Both Piper and Lou Ellen jumped off of Arion, and pulled our the swords that Dave gave them. With a battle cry, they started charging toward the creature. Hazel motioned for Arion to follow in pursuit.

Jason reached the creature first, using the wind to swivel it off its feet. The yellow man howled, but didn't move from his face-first position. Hazel felt confused, as she stopped Arion just mere feet from the creature. Was it _crying?_

"Surrender, and we will grant you mercy!" began Lou Ellen, digging into the side of the four-armed dude.

"Go ahead, kill me... Put me out of my misery..." moaned the yellow guy.

Hazel and her friends exchanged looks. A monster that actually wanted himself to be killed? Something was off. Either that, or something unspeakably horrible happened that the monster didn't want to talk about.

"Uh, and why do you wanna be killed?" Piper asked, twirling her sword.

"I ran away from Jefferson City as fast as I could... I can't go on anymore..." groaned the monster, turning his head to stare at Piper.

Hazel felt confused. Why would a monster be running away from Jefferson City of all places? Even though she wasn't all caught-up with modern day news, Hazel was pretty sure that Jefferson City was a little too ordinary for monsters. Perhaps they were invited to some sort of get-together inside the city? Highly unlikely, but monsters did like to party it up.

"Jefferson City? Isn't that a little far from here?" stated Lou Ellen.

"I-it may be... but anything to get away from that lunatic female mortal..." gasped the monster. "The image of her caramel hair and almond eyes, while beautiful, will scar me for life..."

"Is it just me, or does that sound like Calypso?" Jason said.

"It does..." began Hazel. "But what would she even be doing in Jefferson City? The last I heard, I'm pretty sure that it wasn't a planned stop of hers.."

Hazel reminded herself to ask Calypso what she had been up to the next time she saw her.

"Okay, so what were you doing in Jefferson City then?" Hazel questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I-I swear, I don't know anything! We were only told to set up an ambush!" stammered the monster, widening his eyes as he realized his mistake.

"An ambush? How particularly interesting... And what would happen if we threatened to do a couple of things? Like, I don't know, gutting you like a fish? Or, maybe, we should be asking the question of why you were doing it in the first place..." mused Lou Ellen, tracing a X-shape incision on the monster's chest.

"Go ahead. I don't have anything to live for anymore... Not after what the crazy girl did to all my friends..." sighed the yellow dude.

"Well, to be fair, I'm going to guess you tried to kill her?" Jason assumed, scanning for threats on the horizon.

"That's besides the point! We never wanted to kill demigods or mortals in the first place, but our master ordered us to!"

"Would this be the same master that ordered Eris to do her ceremony?" Hazel inquired. If this was the same master, then something big was definitely going to happen.

In response, the monster screamed, and did a barrel roll, running himself through the pommel of Lou Ellen's blade. Hazel could only hear some faint curses as the four-armed man dissolved into dust, drifting away in the breeze.

"Da heck?!" bellowed Lou, dropping her sword.

Both Piper and Hazel exchanged a look of sadness. Sure, monsters were evil and all that, but the fact that the guy killed himself was disturbing. To Hazel, it indicated two things. One, it meant that whoever this master was, he or she wanted their identity secret. Two, the monster must have been on one big bottle of fat-free milk or those new "Llama Skipper" products from Olympus.

"Well... That was... eventful?" Jason stuttered, trying to make sense of the situation.

"That was weird stuff, I'll admit," muttered Hazel.

Internally, the whole monster suicide thing kind of creeped Hazel out. At least the guy wasn't trying to kill them. Still, a monster was a monster, and even without Calypso's whole fright-fest thing, the dude would have attempted killing them at one point.

A breeze started blowing throughout the plains, making Hazel's hair puff up like a blowfish. The wind started howling, roaring like Frank as a lion when he missed dinner. Suddenly, Hazel felt pain flare through her forehead, making her clutch it in agony. Around her, her friends did the same, looking like they were walking on a bed of nails.

"W-what is that?" groaned Jason, as he and Piper staggered to the ground.

"I-I don't think-," Lou Ellen began, as she collapsed.

Hazel felt a wave of darkness consume her, as she blacked out.

When Hazel awoke, the first thing she experienced was a tingling sensation. Around her, clouds swirled, and the sky was a midnight black. Hazel was standing on a six-foot long hole that yawned in darkness. She had no idea where the heck she was, or where the others were, for that matter. A distant _boom ba-boom_ echoed in the distance, reminding Hazel about the time Gaea woke. The clouds rumbled, and starting spewing out lightning, as well as occasional rolls of thunder. To Hazel, it seemed like the sky was throwing a tantrum.

_"Soon, daughter of Pluto, I will wake..."_ hissed a voice.

"Who's there?!" cried Hazel, taking up a defensive judo position. She mentally thanked Piper for signing her up for judo lessons. Now, that was one interesting birthday gift...

_"Oh, I'm around you, I can assure you that much..."_

"What could you possibly want? And what do you mean?" questioned Hazel, trying to downplay her importance.

_"Oh, little demigod..."_ crooned the voice. _"I must thank you very much for assisting Eris in her ceremony. You have no idea of the importance of Olympian blood... I needed anything, and you were the perfect solution! What better than a child of my antithesis to assist in my_ _reformation?"_

Hazel felt ice run through her blood. What exactly was reforming?

_"Ah, I'm afraid our time is done. My energy is still limited, and as strong as I could be, I'm afraid that stage hasn't been reached yet. Farewell, daughter of Pluto. We will meet again..."_

"Wait!" Hazel interrupted, before the clouds slammed into her, sending her back into the land of reality.

Snapping up, Hazel felt her head slam into a hovering Lou Ellen. Both girls howled in agony, falling back down onto the grass.

"OW! What was that for, Haze?!" Lou Ellen moaned, trying to alleviate her pain.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see that coming!" exclaimed Hazel.

To Hazel, that was one heck of a weird dream. She was sure that the voice was a male. And what was up with all those storm clouds and lightning? Wasn't that more of Jupiter's thing? Not to mention, the voice nearly had its own gravity. As hard as it was to describe, Hazel knew somehow that certain things were gravitating toward that echo... The kind of gravity that a primordial would have... But what primordial still alive would be able to radiate that?

"Wow, was it just me, or did everyone get the same dream?" Jason asked, rubbing Piper's back. "I may know many gods, but that guy's voice... I don't even recognize, or ever heard before..."

"Listen, I think we should just worry about getting the Fates safely home," groaned Lou Ellen. "I'm all for diving in, but I just want to get this done with already..."

"I'll agree with that too, Lou," Piper sighed, laying flat on her back.

Nearby, Arion whinnied sounds of complaint, urging for Hazel to come. With a roll of her eyes, Hazel sauntered over to Arion, and nestled her head in his mane. The horse seemed to purr sounds of happiness, while the clip-clop sounds of his hooves rolled across the plains.

In the two years since Gaea's fall, Hazel noticed that Arion had grown. Normally, the horse wouldn't be able to carry four people across his flank, but Arion had increased in height and body length. Hazel suspected that it was from the large intake of gold he was looting, and the daily exercise he was getting. Ever since that bust-out in Seattle, Arion was content on running as much as possible. Even now, Hazel still couldn't believe that Arion was her horse. He was so incredibly useful for quests, and did a mean back-kick too. That, and he was her best equine friend.

Crouching down to the ground, Hazel did a mental search for any surrounding gold in the area. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't any for a long while... Odd... It looked like that Arion would have to go without a snack for a little while.

"Guys, we don't have any time to waste, you know?" Hazel warned, pulling herself on Arion's back. Her friends were laying in the grass, pretending to take a nap.

Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen all muttered cries of protest, before giving in and saddling up behind Hazel. Arion gave Jason a dirty look, as the son of Jupiter climbed up on board. Hazel had to stifle a giggle. Arion's whole grudge against Jason was due to a 'disagreement' between the two in Connecticut once.

"Seattle ho, we go!" clambered Lou Ellen, as Hazel spurred Arion on.

"I HATE THIS HORRSEE!" Jason yelled, as Arion broke the speed barrier.

Hazel wondered on whether Jason would offend Neptune and Ceres, since Arion was their kid. Well, never mind. It was a little too disturbing to think about. Jason would get his comeuppance anyway, once Arion found an opening.

But even as they raced toward Seattle, Hazel couldn't help but feel a dreadful pit in her stomach. After the whole Mist fiasco with Eris and the mortals, Hazel found herself doubting her abilities. Controlling them wasn't the issue- whether they were _there_ or not was the problem. What good would controlling the Mist be if there wasn't any in the first place? Hazel knew somehow that once they reached Seattle, something big would happen.

Arion was definitely moving now, and Hazel was sure that they already crossed at least another state or two. A city rose in the horizon- one that Hazel was unfamiliar with.

"Guys-," started Jason. "WAIT, STOP!"

"What is it?!" exclaimed Hazel, tugging back on the reins.

Unfortunately, the ground exploded with rage, as a shower of boulders rained down on Hazel.

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**Hm, quite interesting, isn't it? Be sure to review, follow, and favorite!**


	32. XXXII: Hazel

**Hey all! Back with another chapter! Hazel is now wrapped up, and we will be moving on! Things have been a little dark recently, so our next chapter block will be coming from someone who's KING at humor.. And we all know what it is. It will be SUCH a treat with the Atlas showdown, and it'll be great!**

**Reviews:**

**Court: Yes, a cliff-hanger! XD. I assure you, this chapter doesn't end off in a cliffhanger, so you won't have to worry about that. And to refresh, Percy and Annabeth are engaged as well. You can look back to the first couple of chapters to review. But since chapters 1-12 are a mess... Good luck with that! Gotta find time to re-edit them sometime... Yeah, them getting out of this fight will be interesting. Stay tuned!**

**lovedystopia: You'll just have to see... *cackle* But anyway, good job on picking up the Eris thing! The whole monster-suicide thing was an interesting tidbit that I wanted to put in. You'll see soon on why it ran away... Coming up on the next chapter block! I will delve a little bit further on that dark matter, since we will be returning to Quest #2 next chapter. Ugh, doing grammar is a chore... But my sophomore class has started Julius Caeser recently! For me, it's great fun. But all my classmates are putting a wet blanket on it soooooo much... They don't read very well, so to speak... It horrifies me! SYNR!**

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**XXXII: Hazel  
**

**Hazel would have died, if Arion hadn't kicked her off his back.** With a grunt, she, Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen were thrown back by several meters as the rocks slammed into Arion. The horse whinnied in pain as he was buried under mounds of boulders.

"ARION!" Hazel screamed, running for her horse.

"NO, get back!" bellowed Jason, as he and Piper restrained Hazel by her arms.

With horror, Hazel witnessed a forty-five foot tall creature emerge from the ground, shrieking in rage. No... this was impossible! The creature looked exactly like the one that Lady Artemis and her Hunters fought off! It still retained its orange color, and had four wings on its back. Razor-sharp curved fangs adorned its wingtips, and dozens... no... _hundreds_ of broken arrow shafts dotted its entire body. The creature guttered out a deep growl, and it looked MAD. A murderous look was intent on its face, and Hazel had to wonder just how it escaped Artemis in the first place.

"Holy cow, isn't that the same creature from Kentucky?! A _kardoni_ or something?!" exclaimed Lou Ellen, struggling to her feet.

"If it is, then why hasn't Lady Artemis killed it?!" Piper stated, unsheathing her celestial bronze sword.

Hazel had no idea how the creature even found them. Heck, she didn't even know it was still tracking them! Now Arion was buried under mounds of rubble, and it had to make Hazel sob. Sure, her horse was immortal, but the fact that he was going through pain right now nearly broke her heart. She swore that Arion would get all the gold he wanted once he was freed.

"Let's get 'em!" Jason shouted, summoning the wind. With a yell, he shot in the air.

"For Arion!" cried Hazel, pulling out the nice _spatha _that Dave gave her. Piper and Lou Ellen yelled various sounds of agreement, and joined Hazel in the fray.

The creature bellowed a battle-cry, and charged toward Hazel. Hazel put on a burst of speed, and did a tuck-roll under the creature's legs, swinging her sword upwards. Instantly, the horrible beast teleported out of plain sight right before her _spatha_ impacted its upper ankle.

"Are you joking me?!" cried Jason, as a miniature lightning bolt just barely missed Hazel.

"Hey, watch it there!" Hazel warned, rolling to the side.

"I'm trying! The stupid thing just keeps teleporting everywhere!"

In response, the creature materialized above Piper, reaching out to slam a fist into the daughter of Aphrodite. Piper barely ducked out of the way as her hair whipped in the breeze of the impact.

"Why is this thing so hard to hit?!" stated Lou Ellen, stumbling around.

Hazel had an idea. If the creature could appear out of anywhere... Then she would have to trip it up somehow.

Closing her eyes, she sensed for any other gems in the area. There certainly wasn't any gold, but some diamonds and rubies were present. She beckoned for them to gravitate near the surface, lying in wait.

"Hey, Pipes, take a swing at it!" Hazel ordered, opening her eyes.

In response, the daughter of Aphrodite sidestepped the creature's resting fist, and jerked her sword sideways. As expected, the monster dissipated out of plain view right before Piper's sword made impact.

Above, Jason increased the intensity of the wind, swirling it above Hazel's head. The son of Jupiter kept an alert eye for wherever the creature would reappear next. To Hazel, it was nerve-wracking, guessing where the monster would end up.

Unfortunately for Hazel, it reappeared two feet from her, raising its leg to crush her into a squishy pile of demigod goo.

Reacting quickly, Hazel willed the surrounding gems to rocket from the ground. With a grin, she knew that they made their target, as the monster howled in agony, as thousands of tiny little pointy devils dug in its skin. Hazel felt immense satisfaction as several rubies wedged themselves in the monster's eyes, making it clutch its poor eyeballs, while groaning in pain.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lou Ellen and Piper rushed forward, as each of them stabbed the _kardoni _in its right foot. Jason blew a surge of wind at the same time, making the monster flip onto its back. Hazel rolled out of the way as the creature's back hit the ground with a _thud_. Its four wings arched up to defend itself, as Jason shot down on a current, with lightning rocketing off his gladius.

The son of Jupiter bellowed, as his gladius swung down onto the _kardoni_, crackling with energy. The monster's eyes widened, and it instantly vanished.

Needless to say, Jason slammed into the ground, with the leftover lightning giving Hazel a shock.

"OW, Sparky!" howled Piper, as her teeth started chattering. "You said that was a one-time thing!"

"It was late, and we were tired! You wanted to do that _thing!_" Jason shot back, rubbing his stomach from the impact.

Hazel started blushing vigorously. She had no idea why modern-day society insisted on insinuating those _things_ so heavily.

"Hey, hey, I don't want to break this up any more than you do, but here he comes!" interrupted Lou Ellen, gesturing back to the _kardoni_, who had reappeared a hundred feet away. The creature sprinted towards Hazel and her friends, extending its talons.

Piper rushed in front of Hazel, and held her arms open.

"Hey, hey. I know you want to kill us," she began, as her charmspeak began washing over the _kardoni's_ ears. "But you don't want to kill my good friends over there... You want to kill _me_. You know that you want this the most. This is what you've been waiting for, er, your whole _monsterly _life. Ignore them. I am more important than you could possibly fathom..."

The _kardoni's_ eyes glazed over, and the monster's face jerked toward Piper, with rage adorning its facial features.

"Pipes, what are you doing?!" Jason protested, circling the monster at a safe distance.

"Buying you time for an opening! Hazel, cover me!" Piper said.

At that moment, the _kardoni_ charged toward Piper, sweeping out its arms into a trapping motion. The daughter of Aphrodite began sprinting away from Hazel, Jason, and Lou Ellen. Jason summoned the wind once more, rocketing off toward the monster.

Hazel ran in pursuit, trying to look for an opening. A monster that could teleport itself was insanely difficult to defeat. Most of all, where did it come from? Hazel had never encountered a monster as large as the _kardoni_ was. The creature was even taller than King Porphyrion, and that was saying a lot. Hazel had to wonder if the creature was sent to kill them specifically. It reminded her of the story Reyna told her about the hunter Orion. Orion had tried tracking down Reyna, Nico, the coach, and the Athena Parthenos, until the daughter of Bellona had suffocated him to death. How cheerful!

Hazel's heart began to sink as Piper tripped over a stray rock. Aphrodite's daughter fell to the ground with a _crack_, as the _kardoni_ closed in. Piper McLean, one of the most powerful demigods alive, was defeated by a rock. If they survived, Hazel reminded herself to tease Piper about that later.

But more pressing matters were at hand. Hazel waved her arms, focused on shielding Piper. The unscathed gems around the area all skittered around, flying toward the daughter of Aphrodite. Piper shrieked, throwing a hand to shield herself.

What happened next threw Hazel off. The gems surged in front of Piper, slowly clambering up and up. Hazel raised an eyebrow in surprise as a shield of gems solidified, protecting Piper from the incoming fist of the _kardoni._

The monster cried in pain, clutching its right hand. Well, that was new to Hazel. She had no idea how she could make a shield out of gems, but at least it seemed to be a good thing. Rock-solid, too!

Lou Ellen threw her sword at that moment, impaling the upper part of the creature's left arm.

"GAHWOWWWW!" screamed the _kardoni_, which was music to Hazel's ears.

Jason did a ninety-degree angle turn, jerking his gladius toward the screaming monster. The son of Jupiter attempted a corkscrew vault maneuver on the wind, drawing out the lightning to his sword. The _kardoni_ must have been too busy writhing in pain to notice Jason. Either that, or it was trying to do the monster version of the conga.

A swift _TWACK_ was heard, as Jason sliced off the head of the _kardoni._ The lightning-infused sword generated so much heat, that slicing the head off was like spreading butter on bread. The monster went limp, and toppled over to the ground. Hazel was thankful that there wasn't anyone around, or they would be asking the question of why a fart-like sound was heard in the distance.

"UGH!" Lou Ellen choked, clutching her nose. "What IS that smell?"

"I-I though that I'll never say this... but... that's the smell of death," Hazel wheezed. "I guess _kardoni_s and their deaths STINK!"

"That's an understatement," sighed Piper, as she edged her way around Hazel's homemade gem shield. The remains of the _kardoni_ dissolved into a black puzzle of ooze, trickling down the slope.

"Well, that was interesting..." Jason droned, drifting down to the ground.

"It may be, but what I want to know is how and why that _thing_ was tracking us..." mused Hazel.

Hazel had to guess that the rescue of the Fates was way more important than they originally thought. Sure, it was super-important in the first place, but since a bloodthirsty monster tracked them across the country, not to mention a dream visit from a god, and a psychopathic summoning ceremony with a goddess, the stakes were raised.

A mourning _whinny _resonated across the countryside, jarring Hazel out of her thoughts.

"Arion!" she cried, sprinting to the pile of boulders standing a hundred yards away. "Are you okay?!"

In response, a sad _bray_ reached Hazel's ears. Oh, poor Arion... Hazel was a sucker for that horse, and she knew it. One time, she even bought Arion some McDonalds because Percy said he wanted to try it. That, and the horse was giving Hazel the puppy dog look. Or horse look... Whatever.

Skidding to a halt, Hazel tried removing the boulders by hand. It was useless; they were too heavy.

"Guys, help me!" Hazel ordered, trying to move the boulders she _could_ lift up. Her friends sprinted over, running as quickly as they could.

Lou Ellen and Piper pitched in with Hazel, helping to lift up an extremely large boulder. Jason dug his feet on the ground, using his power over the wind to levitate some smaller boulders, and tossed them aside.

Hazel felt her heart surge as one of Arion's legs appeared. Jason crouched down to observe, but the leg suddenly kicked up, smashing in Jason's nose.

"OW!" he cried, as blood started trickling down his chin.

"Mother of Aphrodite..." sighed Piper, pulling aside another boulder, and moving toward her fiance to inspect him.

Arion's body was visible now, as Hazel and Lou Ellen worked together to remove the rest. The horse nickered a sigh of relief, as the last of the boulders were removed from his upper legs. Arion groaned, and struggled to pick himself up.

With a _whinny_, Arion stood up, and did that incredible horse-kicking in the air position from the movie _Black Stallion._ Hazel loved that movie, but what made it better was that Arion was alive and well.

"Really, just really?" Jason moaned, shooting a dirty look at the horse, while Piper tended to his nose.

"Shush, it's not broken. You'll just bleed for a little while," Piper cooed, taking some wipes out of the knapsack on Arion's flank. At least their supplies didn't get crushed under the boulders' weight, and Hazel was thankful for that.

"Well, you're quite the survivor, eh?" Lou Ellen said, gesturing to Arion. The horse brayed in response.

"He's immortal, you know?" Hazel said, blinking.

"Well, whatever..."

"This _whatever_ isn't going to help my nose stop bleeding... Can we just camp out here for the night? I've had enough monster fights and powers to last me for a lifetime," groaned the son of Jupiter.

"Sure, why not?" Hazel shrugged, unloading the camping equipment. "It can be like the first time we camped at the start of the quest! Besides those _mardai_ ambushing us, that is..."

"Well, I'm going to go for a walk. Maybe I'll find some nice sticks to whittle myself another staff or something!" Lou Ellen stated. "And if you guys want any wild food, just let me know!"

"Be safe, and don't wander off!" scolded Piper, in a motherly tone. "And no, you're not killing some deer like you did five months ago... Too excessive Lou, too excessive..."

The daughter of Hecate could only mutter a groan as she walked off to a nearby ridge. With a shrug, Hazel started unloading camping equipment from a grazing Arion.

Hazel hoped that there wouldn't be any more nasty surprises on the journey to Seattle. She doubted it, though. But what would lie ahead? Whoever they were facing obviously didn't want them to reach the city. If that _kardoni_ was only one thing, then what else could possibly happen? It wasn't like the gods were going to be helping them again, anyway. All thanks to good old Zeus... But Hazel supposed that the Olympians overstayed their welcome. It wasn't like they were partying back at New Athens or anything, which would be totally ridiculous.

A _ding_ rang across the horizon, reaching Hazel's ears. Confused, she looked up to the sky.

"Did you hear that?" questioned Jason, whose nosebleed had now stopped.

"Is it just me, or does that sound like the chime from Hermes Express?" Piper stated, setting up her and Jason's tent.

In response, golden particles streaked across the sky. Slowly, they started forming together in clusters. Hazel felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as the golden streaks started swirling in a fiery inferno. It was like the sky was forming a tornado, minus the fact that it was glowing a bright yellow. Faster and faster it spun, until a eye-blinding flash burned through Hazel's vision.

A package popped out of the hole, and started falling towards the ground. Eliciting surprise, Hazel maneuvered back and forth to catch the package. Piper stood up too, watching the horizon. The vortex of golden energy closed up, and the sky returned to its bright-blue color. With a feeling of dread, Hazel realized the package was much larger than she originally thought; it was at least the size of her entire body.

The air around Hazel whistled as the package shot to the ground, and started hovering just bare inches away from the soil. With a sudden _thunk_, it collapsed. Its contents spilled out in front of Hazel, and it made her scream gleefully.

In front of Hazel laid all the weapons that were lost. There was Piper's knife, Katoptris, and her sword, Razorback! There was Jason's original gladius, too! What was even better was that Hazel's original _spatha_ lay among the package, and Lou Ellen's staff, Diancer, was there too.

Creeping closer, Hazel noticed a note laying at the bottom of the weapons pile. Digging it out, she observed its contents.

_-Dear Hazel, Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen. If you're getting this message, then toodles to you! I'm sure you darlings are wondering how you received those weapons. As a favorable gesture of mine, I persuaded several close contacts to retrieve those weapons from the Nashville Police's directory. Oh, it was such a pleasure to be able to assist! I know I've not been helpful on this quest, but this is my gift to you all. And rest assured, I sent this package before Zeus gave the order to cease direct interference! You must simply tell Hermes to speed up his mail by all means. Oh, and tell Piper I said hello! And Jason, if you're reading this, if you hurt my daughter, I will turn you into a feral hog, understood? _

_-Aphrodite_

"Oh, dear gods, that was my _mom?_" Piper moaned, peeping over Hazel's shoulder. "Surprisingly, it's actually the most useful thing she's done in a while..."

The sky rumbled, and Piper glared at it pointedly.

"Hey, at least we got our weapons back!" Hazel exclaimed, clutching her beloved _spatha_. Even the tiny dent on the side where she killed some giants was still there!

"Yeah, I did miss Katoptris... Not the doomsday visions I'm getting from it, though. Seriously, I have no idea why it started showing me images again after all these years... Something bad is coming, and I can feel it."

"That's just peachy!" Jason said, sitting near his tent. The son of Jupiter motioned for Piper to bring over his gladius.

"If he thinks I'll bring him stuff when we get married, he has another thing coming..." Piper whispered. Hazel giggled at that mention.

As Piper and Jason launched into an intense discussion, and Lou Ellen moping on a nearby ridge, seemingly unaware of what just happened, Hazel felt a familiar nuzzle brush the back of her head. Arion trotted up to the daughter of Pluto, and made some guttural sounds.

"Listen, boy... That whole leg-kicking you did on Jason? It wasn't an accident, was it?"

Hazel swore that she could see Arion's lip curl up into a smile.

Gazing upon the evening sun, Hazel felt content. Here she was, sitting in the middle of a newly set-up camp with her best friends. That, and her beloved horse. The stars began to rise on the very edge of the sunset. If this wasn't a life-or-death quest, Hazel would be convinced that it was a regular old vacation.

Yes, the stars were beginning to gleam, and Hazel would set off for Seattle in the morning.

* * *

**A nice, quiet conclusion to Hazel! Next chapter block will be a BLAST!**


	33. XXXIII: Leo

**Quick Note: Next chapter up by Monday, April 19, 10:00 PM EST.**

**Hey guys! Thanks for 5 reviews the last time I posted a chapter! It was awesome, and warms my heart! Enjoy this next one!**

***Warning: Heavy review responses ahead. Skip to the chapter below if you do not want to read them***

**Reviews:**

**Court: No problem! You'll like who's up next... *cackle***

**TotallyCray-Cray: That's a good point! I decided to postpone this chapter for a day, thanks to your suggestion. That, and I had this big science project due the following morning, which resulted in me staying up until midnight... Not fun. But I will take your suggestion in mind and space out updates! I can understand where you're coming from. It's so tempting to skip ahead when there's all those goodie chapters... But I will warn you, and I apologize, for the mess that is chapters #1-12! I have to go back and edit them sometime. Fixing up the grammar, splicing the paragraphs, etc. I was new to writing at the time of those chapters, and have considerably improved, if you've been watching the slow rate of better writing as each chapter continues. By the end of the book, I will have gone on to re-edit every chapter in terms of grammar, so it's up to snuff. I'm not one of those people who write and finish a book and say: done. I go back and look for errors, and correct them! Hope to see another review!**

**JonesDerHammer: Thank you! I didn't want to put TOO much heavy detailing, since it's a direct sequel to the Heroes of Olympus. People should already be knowing what the Seven usually wear, and what New Rome looks like, etc. I'll keep up the good work, and stay tuned! I look forward to another review sometime!**

**ObsessedwReading: Great! I suggest treading chapters #1-12 very carefully. I know they're not very good... Since I was new to writing at the time, I've got to go back and re-edit those chapters sometime. Everything after chapter 12 gets considerably better, though. By the time this book is done, I will have gone back and scrub each and every one of those chapters to make sure the grammar and paragraph splicing is on point... So no worries!**

**Lovedystopia: What do you mean by fragment? If there's any, my apologies! There's some things that my tired eyes can't always catch... xD. I'll be scrubbing the previous chapters at one point, anyway, if you've read the above responses. Most likely, I'll do it 4 chapters before the ending of the book, so I can just repost it all and just post the final 4 chapters to wrap it all up. I thought a peaceful ending would be a nice change, so kudos to that! Atlas will be coming soon! SYNR!**

**So, without further ado... (And yes, some words don't exist in the mind of Leo).**

* * *

**XXXIII: Leo**

**Having a picnic with his girlfriend in the middle of a burning town entertained Leo.**

Calypso sighed contentedly as Leo wrapped an arm around her, basking in her super-awesome gloriousness. For Leo, this couldn't get much better. After spending five minutes avoiding the blowy-uppy missiles of doom, and Frank lecturing some of his legionnaires, New Rome caught on fire from the leftover missile ammunition. Leo could feel a tear streaking down his cheek. He had no idea that the Romans wanted to be just like him! Everywhere, firefighters were scrambling to put out the fires, primarily in the Forum. It had been a day since the missiles fired, and the damage was still ongoing.

"Cal, isn't this peaceful?" Leo sighed, taking a grape from a nearby basket.

"Half of New Rome is burning down, and you're saying that?" stated Calypso, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, hey. Those awesome firefighters are already putting half it it out!" exclaimed Leo, gesturing to the hard-at-work Roman demigods clad in red fireproof suits.

At least for Leo, this current visit to New Rome was going better than the last time. There was no angry Reyna, no ghost of Calypso, and no plummeting to the ground! Though, Leo was sure that the third time was the charm! Heck, he practically invented that catchphrase!

Festus lolled nearby, taking a nap. The dragon was breathing out small tendrils of flame, while scratching his ear in his sleep like one of those house cats. Leo was sure that Festus was related to one of them. More specifically... _Mitzi._ With a shudder, Leo remembered that time in Bulgaria where he encountered that demon of a cat. Sure, it turned out to be a twenty-foot tall feral jungle lion, but still.

"So, this is a normal day for... demigods?" Eva questioned, sitting cross-legged on a nearby blanket.

"Sheesh lady! There's no need to jump on me!" Leo exclaimed, unnerved by Eva's sudden burst.

The mortal looked like she was about to cry. Leo felt his shoulder sting as Calypso punched him, with an angry glare on her face.

"Couldn't you be any more insensitive, Valdez?!"

At that moment, Frank rushed by, bellowing out orders. Several legionnaires and designated firefighters followed him, lugging some buckets of water. The praetor took a right toward the Senate House, while morphing into an elephant. His fellow members of the legion obeyed as if he had never been gone. There weren't many soldiers left in New Rome, however, since the bulk of the legion and the Senate were still situated back in New Athens.

"B-but I live for insensitivity!" stammered Leo, breaking the awkward silence. Well, it was actually the screaming in the distance, but who was counting?

"And that insensitivity is why Frank won't let you help with putting out the fires..." Calypso sighed.

"Oh please. Frank just can't handle my awesomeness!" Leo boasted, stuffing some meat in his mouth.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Eva gaze upon them with a slack-jawed face. He was pretty sure that the mortal was experiencing hallucinatory effects. But hey, Leo was sure that his McShizzleness was the epitome of envy! Admittedly enough, the fact that Frank dragged Eva out into the middle of a burning missile factory, and made her go on the quest weirded out Leo. He was totally fine with leaving the mortal out there in Jefferson City, but oh no, Calypso just HAD to be all nice and stuff. Well, Leo had no problem with Eva coming along. It was just that mortal interference worried him a little bit. All thanks to that time in Rio...

"So, where are you taking me next?" questioned Eva, crawling closer to the picnic blanket.

"Oh, that's the beauty of it! Now that you've completed your honorary demigod initiation, you'll go traveling with us! That, and Calypso thinks there's something special about you if those monsters took an interest..." Leo mused.

"Honorary demigod...?"

"Oh, just don't listen to my boyfriend. It's just a phrase we use for some special mortals," Calypso smiled, patting Eva on the back.

"Hey, when you say special, I say wowie-sauce! I haven't seen a mortal as involved in our world as you are! Hm, besides our oracle, that is... And maybe a few other people too..." droned Leo. "Anyway, the fact is that you're not normal. And I don't mean in a weird, freaky monster sense. More like... burrito weird!"

As Leo said that, he heard an explosion in the distance. He hoped that nothing major happened, or else Annabeth would _really_ be ticked off. With horror, Leo realized that Annabeth would already be furious when she found out that half her architecture got burnt down. At least she was safely across the entire country, back in New Athens. Leo swore that he would rather drown himself than face Annabeth's rage.

At least the area around the Forum had been extinguished clear of fires by now. Refelecting back, Leo remembered the blood rush he got from diving and ducking all these missiles. It was SO much fun to fly around! Besides Eva screaming like a lunatic, that was. Frank just _had_ to spoil the party by leaping off Festus and turning into an eagle, flying down to shut off the missile system.

"Um... Okay?" Eva stated, jarring Leo out of his thoughts.

"Ah, just don't worry about it. We're happy to have you on the bandwagon!" shrugged Leo.

Calypso nodded in agreement, reaching out for a sandwich. In all the chaos, Leo ordered a picnic basket to go from a nearby Roman shop that hadn't burnt down. He used his 'brownie' points for the whole saving-the-world-and-being-alive thing to get it for free!

Leo could hear and see Frank walking over from the distance, holding a clipboard of some sorts. The son of Mars was covered in soot and ash, and looked like he had won a fight with Hades. No other fires seemed to be present, so Leo had to guess that Frank and the firefighters had succeeded in putting it out.

Calypso gestured for Frank to come over, and the praetor obliged. He dragged himself over to the picnic blanket, seating himself and giving Eva a small smile. Leo wiggled his eyes at that gesture, wondering what Hazel would think. Nah, Frank would never do that. He was too loyal, and he probably didn't want to face Hazel's wrath. That girl could rain down gems like crazy... Frank began to speak, vanishing Leo's delusions.

"Okay... The missile batteries have been restocked... All the barracks are still in functioning order... And the citizens of New Rome are cleaning up internal affairs... That should about do it!" chirped Frank.

"Well, Franky-boy, looks like you're a better praetor than I thought you would be!" Leo teased, as Frank clutched his clipboard.

"Frank, how did it go? Is everything okay?" butted in Calypso, as the son of Mars blushed in embarrassment.

Leo internally groaned. He was hoping to get something out of Frank before Calypso could butt in. The fact that Frank was a great praetor surprised Leo, but he had no doubt that the son of Mars could do it.

"Uh, well... Yeah. I had to break up something with two centurions in the Seventh Cohort, and oversee the temporary installment of some leaders from the Second. Other than that, the city and the legion should run pretty okay while we're gone."

Leo felt proud of Frank. He knew that the son of Mars would pick up on his super-awesome organizational skills someday, which already happened! Thankfully, Frank put them to use by organizing his now-swelled legion. Leo had heard that the legion increased in size, which he so totally saw earlier. There were at least ten cohorts now, with whole batteries of onagers supporting them.

"That sounds cool and all, Frank... But did you say earlier we needed to visit... a... _Titan_, if I remember right?" Eva questioned, tucking a strand of her curly hair behind her ear.

"My father, yes. If anyone can shed light on what's going on, I suspect that it's him." said Calypso.

Ah, Atlas... Over the last few years, Leo had heard snippets about Calypso's father from her. It was obvious that Calypso still loved Atlas as a father, and it had to make Leo's heart ache. He had no idea what kind of dynamic relationship that Calypso and Atlas had going on right now. And to be honest, he was looking forward to finding out. Leo wanted to ask Atlas for permission about something, including a slight bulge that was protruding out of his toolbelt, which he made sure to hide from Calypso. The general of the Titans might still be a bad guy, but Leo was sure that even he could weasel out some special permission...

"So what, we just go over there and talk to him? Then we go back to New Athens? Aren't we just going in one big triangle?" Frank inquired, taking an apple out of the basket. "Though, I'm sure Reyna has mobilized the part of the legion that's back in Long Island, so I suppose we have our Eastern and Western strongholds secure."

"Frank, I'm all for learning geometry and stuff, but what happens if there's a major attack somewhere?" questioned Leo, inhaling down another grape.

"Good question, Valdez. I guess we pray to the gods and wish ourselves luck. That, and I can just transfer some cohorts..." muttered the son of Mars.

"Is your fire-breathing dragon supposed to do that?" Eva interrupted, pointing toward Festus.

Leo had to snort. Festus was moving around in his sleep, making creaking sounds in Morse code. Some of the things that Leo could hear from the dragon included Tabasco sauce and suitcases.

"Yeah, that's Festus for you. He's my special boy..." grinned Leo, turning back towards Eva.

"So, if the Greek and Roman gods are real and all that... I guess I have a lot to learn, don't I?" sighed the mortal, drawing her knees to her chest.

"It's no problem. Leo here took _ages_ to figure out all the demigodish stuff... And I know from personal experience. Hey, you can even meet my father!" Calypso said.

"I take offense to that!" gasped Leo, clutching a hand to his chest.

"It's not like you're going to die, Leo..." Frank groaned, laying flat on the ground. The cobblestone streets dug at his back, which he ignored.

"On the contrary, I suffer from a disease called offensi-vitus! It's such a deadly virus, that I could die from it any time! Spend every waking moment with me, as if it were your last! Come forth, I say!" Leo dramatized, trying to get his Shakespeare on.

"Yeah, right," snorted Calypso. "Anyway, Frank, if you're all wrapped up here, are you ready to go?"

"Yup, I've got all the contingencies sorted out... Eva, are you all set?" Frank asked.

"I'm ready whenever you guys are. It's not like I can go anywhere else..." smiled the mortal.

Leo noticed a painful expression behind Eva's facial gestures. He, above all people, recognized that expression. It was one of longing for something. Leo decided not to press the matter, since he already had experience in that department. That, and having an eons-old girlfriend kind of helped.

"Well, you may want to get Festus over there," Calypso stated, starting to gather up the picnic materials.

Turning toward the sleeping dragon, Leo elicted a grin. Sauntering over to the bronze beast that was once the Argo II, Leo tapped his knuckles on Festus' bronze plating. It was rock solid, and scarred by two years of constant fighting from monsters. Leo reminded himself to make some repairs to the dragon later.

"Hey, Festus. Festus. Come on boy!" Leo teased, elicting a sharp whistle from his mouth.

At that, the dragon perked up, and his ruby eyes flickered on. Festus groaned and creaked as he rose up on his feet, spreading his wings. With pride, Leo looked on. His dragon was the epitome of awesomeness! Heck, Leo knew that no other dragon could boast to have plucked up Gaea by surprise, while avoiding her angry rage. Not to mention, Festus made a swaggy suitcase and boat!

"Wow, I'll never get over that..." gasped Eva, as Festus nuzzled Leo on the back of his head.

"BEHOLD! THIS IS ONE SPANKING HOT WAR MACHINE OF AWESOMENESS!" bellowed Leo, pumping his fists in the air.

"If you're going on that Team Leo rampage again, I'm not giving you any kisses for a month!" retorted Calypso, dragging the picnic basket over, and setting it next to Festus.

"On the other hand, this is something that's just awesome! Now, ladies and gentlemen, all aboard the Leo train!"

In response, Calypso, Frank, and Eva all clambered aboard the dragon. Leo lugged the picnic basket from the ground, and loaded it in Festus' rear compartment. With a wheeze, Leo wondered just what was inside the basket that made it so heavy. It was like Hercules was stuffed with pork, and got loaded inside of a moving car!

"I'll drive this puppy!" Calypso declared, grasping onto Festus' reins.

"Hey, hey! This wonderful pet is something to be admired... The flying stature on this thing can only be handled delicately by the most battle-hardened of veterans! Trust me, this 'lil guy just wants me to steer him to victory!" Leo said, trying to wrestle control of the reins from Calypso.

"Yeah, right! Now plant yourself behind me, mister!"

Leo sighed in defeat. Apparently, there was no way to please this woman... Well, there were a couple of ways. Leo wiggled his eyes, thinking of all the suggestive things to come. He was totally built for this!

"Hey, Leo.. Whatever you're thinking, the answer to that is no..." butted in Frank, as Festus rose into the sky, with fire breathing from his maw.

Leo had to roll his eyes. If only Frank knew what he was _really_ thinking...

With that, the son of Hephaestus snaked his arms around Calypso, as Festus gained altitude. The dragon climbed higher and higher, until Camp Jupiter was just a speck on the ground. Even from above, the camp was impressive. Besides ten percent of it being covered in black soot, that is. The columns leading to the Forum were still intact, and Annabeth's large walkway still snaked around New Rome.

The Little Tiber roared some distance away, which Leo found scary. He heard from Percy that it could wash away Greek blessings. Now, Leo wasn't one for blessings, but he was pretty sure that dancing around in magical water was a big no-no for him.

"Whoa-," began Eva, as Calypso pressed the booster-extension button.

Festus shot forward, blasting off into the direction of Mount Tam. Leo had to feel proud of himself. He knew that installing those boosters would come in handy someday. In which that someday was _now._

"Hey, listen. When you guys meet my dad, let me do most of the talking, okay?!" Calypso shouted, over the roar of the wind.

"Hey, it's all up to you! If you want a tearful reunion with your pops, don't let me stop ya!" Leo said.

In the distance, Leo could see the sprawling city of San Francisco. Well, it was going to be visible anyway, since Camp Jupiter was practically on the outskirts.

"You guys are lucky! I can't believe you get to do all this!" Eva exclaimed, peering over Leo's shoulder.

"Yeah, well.. That luck comes at a price! Unless you want to have the immediate threat of dying every day, I don't suggest being a demigod!" said Frank, observing the skyline.

As they got closer to Mount Tam, Leo found himself getting increasingly nervous. He knew that Atlas' opinion wouldn't matter, but he was curious on what the Titan would think. After all, it wasn't every day that your immortal daughter gets turned into a demititan/mortal pseudo, and starts dating the sworn enemy of the Titan race. But Leo wanted to be a gentleman, and gain Atlas' blessing for something very important coming up...

The clouds rumbled, swirling toward a mountain in the distance, just beyond the confines of San Francisco. Festus creaked and groaned, as the magic of the mountain forced him to go lower.

"Of course... The Hesperides... The sunset won't be for a couple more hours..." Calypso muttered, motioning for Festus to dive down toward San Francisco, at the base of Mount Tam.

"The Hesperides? Are they fruits or something?" asked Eva, scrunching her eyebrows.

"No... You could say that they're my half sisters. They guard this specific garden that gives us entry to my dad. Long story short, we're going to have to take a sunset hike. Everyone needs to stay close, and follow my lead, okay?"

With a grunt of the reins, Calypso pulled Festus down to a rest at the base of the mountain. Storms swirled all around Leo, coursing toward the top of the mountain. The sky was an ashen gray, even though it was still early in the afternoon.

"Something isn't right..." frowned Calypso. "I can sense something around here, and it's at the top of that mountain..."

"Well, maybe your dad ate one bean burrito too many?" Leo suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

Leo's gaze faltered as Calypso glared at him. After all these years of turning on the Leo charm, Calypso was the only girl who could rebuff him! Leo had to sigh at the fact that there was a girl in front of him who passed his test! Okay, maybe more than one person resisted the charm, but still.

Festus creaked and shaked as his feet pounded some pavement. Leo realized that Calypso set the dragon in the middle of a parking lot. A sign nearby said: _Mount Tam Tours; Closed for today due to maintenance. _

Well, great! Leo knew he was the king of maintance, so he would march right up there and fix up Atlas... Wow, that sounded wrong.

"We're going to have to pass the time for a bit. Anyone want to play I-Spy while we wait for sunset?" Calypso suggested, keeping an eye out for mortals.

"Oh, I love this game!" began Eva, looking around for an object.

Frank looked like he was about to say something, but the son of Mars shut his mouth.

Leo had to raise an eyebrow. He didn't know that Frank got so tongue-tied around girls lately... With luck, Leo knew that he would be able to teach Frank a few tricks to liven up the mood. It so totally worked in Albania, so it would work here! But Leo remembered that time in Albania where he found this black t-shirt... And he had no idea where it came from. Funny, it looked like Nico's size somehow...

"Oh, I-Spy something blue!" chirped Eva, with a smirk on her face. Her voice jarred Leo out of his thoughts.

As Calypso turned around to launch into a game of guesses, Leo wondered just how on Earth... er... _Gaea_, he was going to handle this craziness. If they were going to guess for hours, Leo would rather stab himself thirty-one times.

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**I hope you all enjoyed! Be sure to review, follow, and favorite!**


	34. XXXIV: Leo

**Hey all! Here's another chapter for you. I'm kind of short on time right now, so excuse the lack of notes!**

**Reviews:**

**Totally-Cray-Cray: Glad to see that you're all caught up! I hope that you like this chapter! Hope to see a good review shortly!**

**Lovedystopia: Well, okay then! And that baby voice is cute... awww... Well, SYNR! Sorry that the response has to be short, kind of short on time right now.**

**bris38: Well, we know how Leo is... Filled with totally random thoughts! Thirty-one just seemed like a good number to him!**

**Nettleinis: Thanks! Those kind words warm my heart! Keep practicing your English, and you'll get there!**

**Guest: Thanks for the well-written part! As for more detail, I suggest you read more. I don't like lumping all my details into one chapter; it's better to spread it out. And this series is after Blood of Olympus, so I'm assuming that all of you know the minor details about the Seven, etc.**

**So, without further ado...**

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**XXXIV: Leo**

**Going on a hike exhausted Leo. **Well, it wasn't really a hike, per se. More like slowly driving a car up the mountain of doom. Wait, scratch that. Barreling up the slope of the mountain would be a more accurate description.

After spending hours playing I-Spy, Leo was nearly ready to tear his heart out by the time the sun set. Thankfully, Calypso made it all better by hijacking a nearby car, and 'commissioning' it for a short drive up the mountain.

Festus had whimpered and complained, but Calypso insisted that the dragon needed to stay on the ground. Leo had no idea why his girlfriend didn't want Festus to come along, but it had something to do with "barriers of Mist magic" for some odd reason. Luckily, after Leo offered Festus some Tabasco sauce, the dragon had settled down onto the parking lot contentedly, snoring away like a gorilla.

Sometimes, Leo swore that Festus was starting to become the god, Hypnos. The dragon had started sleeping more often for some odd reason, but after several checkups, Leo didn't see anything wrong with Festus.

After all that had been finished, Calypso had the brilliant idea of driving up Mount Tam with some sort of random car. Leo could practically taste the sarcasm in his mouth when that happened.

After taking forever to choose a car, Calypso had finally settled on a Prius. For Leo, a Prius wasn't his taste, but he really wasn't going to argue with his beautiful girlfriend, who could withdraw his "privileges" at any moment. That, and Leo felt that a Ferrari was more suited to his tastes... But hey, when the world is ending all over again, there weren't really too many options.

Also, Leo felt terrified. Even though cars seemed to be a buddy of his, the person driving them was NOT. After being stuck on a magical island for milliena, Calypso's driving skills weren't exactly... _good._

And that's why Leo was feeling terrified. Calypso had never learnt to drive... And Leo had no idea why the heck he decided to let her do it. Then again, himself and Frank had no clue how to drive either. Eva did know how to drive, but letting a mortal drive up to a mountain of magic and doom wasn't the best idea.

"BRAKES! BRAKESSS!" screamed Frank, jarring Leo out of his thoughts.

"JUST LET ME DRIVE!" Calypso bellowed, swerving out of the way of a large boulder.

"Hey, Calypso... I really think you should listen to Frank..." Leo began calmly. "BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DIE YOUNG! THERE'S TOO MUCH MCSHIZZLENESS LEFT TO SPREAD INTO THE WORLD!"

"WILL YOU SHUT IT?!" retorted Calypso, making a hard turn to the right.

"ALL I WANT, IS TO NOT DIE!" Eva cried, holding on to the armrest in the back seat she was sitting on.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE, SO ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP! GIVE ME ONE MORE MINUTE!" Calypso yelled, yanking the steering wheel to the left.

Looking over to the side, Leo nearly had vertigo. In the distance, he could see the bay of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge. The expansive sprawl of the city loomed above Leo's vision, shining like a beacon in the evening sky.

Leo began to regret calling shotgun, due to the fact that Calypso was swerving up the winding path of Mount Tam like a crazy lunatic. Leo prayed to his dad, Hephaestus, for deliverance from this ride of tortuous doom. If he winded up in Hades, Leo hoped that the lord of the dead would oblige him with a favor. After all, saving the world had to get him some brownie points, right?

"STOPPPPPP!" Eva ordered, interrupting the uneasy silence.

Looking forward, Leo could see faint mist in the distance. They were really starting to get near the top of the mountain now, and the vast expanse of the real kind of mist, and magical mist, were starting to wrap itself around the car.

"WE'RE NOT STOPPING! IN THE MAGICAL MIST WE GO!" Calypso shot back, pressing down hard on the accelerator.

"WHAT?! ARE YOU INSANE!?" WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEHIND ALL THAT MIST!" Leo screamed, clutching the sides of the armrest to steady himself.

"NO, IT'S JUST A BARRIER TO THE GARDEN OF THE HESPERIDES! TRUST ME!" assured Calypso, jerking the wheel into the direction of the main bulk of the mist.

"TRUST IS MUTUAL! I JUST DON'T WANT TO FALL TO MY DOOM!" exclaimed Frank, from the backseat.

"WHY ARE WE SCREAMING IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" questioned Eva, who was holding on tightly for dear life.

"UM, BECAUSE WE'RE AWESOME!?" Leo suggested, while yelling at the top of his lungs.

To Leo, this felt like a scene out of the movie _Rush Hour. _Minus cruising up a magical mountain, of course. Leo didn't know what was going to be scarier: falling to his doom, or getting grilled by Atlas. The latter would probably be better, since there was only a forty-five percent chance of death!

In response, the car passed through the magical veil of Mist at that moment, making Leo rattle around in his seat like one of those candy makers.

"Ugghhhbllurbgh!" chattered Frank, as his teeth vibrated.

"T-th-this isss-is b-bu-bumpy!" Eva stammered, while shutting her eyes tight.

In front of Leo, white fog surrounded the windows, making them glow in a veil of light. It reminded him of the lights surrounding the fish centaurs' camp in the Atlantic, minus the whole underwater vibe.

Leo felt his stomach lurch as the car jerked with a resonating _boom_, emerging out of the fog. Calypso cursed, and slammed her right foot on the brakes. The Prius sizzled and screeched, until it halted to a stop.

"Whoa, Cal... Impressive! You never told me how much of a good driver you were!" Leo teased, sarcastically.

In response, the daughter of Atlas glared at Leo with one phrase evident in her eyes: _shut up._

Leo raised his hands in surrender, and gazed out of the windshield. What he saw next shocked him.

"Whoa... What is _that..._" whispered Eva, leaning forward so her head was adjacent to Leo's.

Leo's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. In front of him was an incredibly lush meadow, adorned with the loveliest shadows and flowers that he had ever seen. The green grass glowed in the evening light, and a large tree emerged ahead of Leo's vision. Golden apples adorned the branches of the tree, and an incredibly large dragon curled around the tree trunk. Its coppery scales glinted in the evening sun, and dozens upon dozens, perhaps even _hundreds_ of heads laid on the ground, with all their eyes closed.

"We're here... And that's Ladon..." breathed Calypso, unbuckling her seatbelt.

At first glance, the dragon looked like he had eaten one port-a-potty too many. Well, Leo assumed that the dragon was a male. If it happened to be a female, then wowzers... whoever had this dragon as a baby must have been up to some really bad stuff. If the dragon happened to spew out poison, Leo would be perfectly fine with it, as long as it didn't kill him.

"Well, are you guys coming?" asked Calypso, motioning to Leo.

At that moment, Leo realized that he had been staring at the garden in awe. Behind him, Frank and Eva were still gazing at the majestic awesomeness of the garden of the Hesperides. If this was what Calypso's sisters were living in, then Leo wouldn't mind popping in every once in a while. Leo mentally reminded himself to bring some cake as a housewarming gift.

Opening the car door, Leo stepped outside, with his feet planting onto the soft, lush grass. Behind him, Frank was being a gentleman by opening the door for Eva, allowing her to trod out of the car. The mortal looked stunned by what she was seeing, and Leo had to agree with that. It wasn't every day that a mortal got an all-exclusive pass to the world of demigods... Leo immediately got an idea, and it was one that would require ten-thousand drachmas...

Calypso snapped her fingers, making Leo snap out of his money fantasy. The daughter of Atlas began to speak in a hushed tone, making Leo feel like he was getting scolded by Tia Callida again.

"Okay, guys... Just be really careful, okay? We're going to have to be really quiet... Ladon is a heavy sleeper, but he'll kill you if you get anywhere near the tree. So, I suggest we go around to that path leading up to the summit... And please... be _quiet_..." Calypso whispered. "I have no _idea_ how he didn't wake up from the car noise in the first place..."

"Sounds good to me.. Whispering is very macho and stuff..." Leo hissed, into Calypso's right ear.

In response, his girlfriend flicked him on the forehead, and motioned for everyone to continue.

As Leo followed Calypso, while tiptoeing across the grass, to a beaten path on the right of the garden, he had to wonder how this thing turned out to be an episode of _Scooby Doo. _Tiptoeing across the path of a monster to reach a crazy Titan was totally on Leo's bucket list! Heh... Not that Atlas was crazy or anything. Leo hoped that the general of the Titans couldn't read his mind, or else he was going to be dumped into a bucketload of _schist._

"This feels so creepy... Why are we going through the garden in the first place?" Eva whispered, trailing right behind Frank.

"It's all part of the Titan's Curse... Trust me, it wasn't my first choice, but that's the way things go," Calypso shot back, taking Leo's hand.

Leo felt a current of electricity run through his veins, making him sigh in contentment. Dang, nab it! Why did Calypso have to be the only one who could do something like that to him? As much as Leo enjoyed his Team Leo club, Calypso was now his number one!

A rustling sound swept through the garden, making Leo rub his ears.

"D-do you hear that?" Frank inquired, slowly drawing out the bow he acquired from New Rome's armory.

Ahead, Ladon stirred in his sleep, twisting his body tighter around the tree.

In front of Leo, four figures shimmered into existence, glimmering against the evening sun. All of them were women, and they wore white Greek chitons. Their skin resembled a shade of caramel, and silky black hair flowed loose around their shoulders.

"Well, well... If it isn't our half_ sister_," spat one of the ladies, stepping forward. "We were beginning to wonder if you would ever come or not..."

"Speak for yourself... _coward!" _Calypso hissed, reaching for her dagger.

"Whoa, whoa, ladies!" began Leo, being careful to tone down his voice. "What's up with all this bad mojo? This isn't what the big, bad McShizzleness of me would want! Now, let's all get along happily with each other, and we'll frolic out to the sunset, okay?"

"Leo Valdez... So you're the most annoying one..." said the same woman, halting herself just mere inches from Calypso.

"Hey! Since when am I annoying? And the last time I checked, aren't you guys supposed to be going all Terminator and bloody on us?!" exclaimed Leo, raising an arm to protect Calypso.

"We have no quarrel with you demigods. In fact, our father is waiting for an audience with you..." said the lady, gesturing to Calypso.

"Father's been waiting for _me?_" stammered Calypso, lowering her knife. "But I expected you guys to put up some sort of resistance..."

"Desperate times make uneasy allies, sister..." said another woman, stepping forward. "Our faith is within our father, and he has his faith in _you..._"

Calypso moistened her lips, which worried Leo. "Listen, I don't mean to be blunt or anything... But has our father been inhaling paint chips for the last century or so?"

One of the girls in the group pealed a ring of laughter, while clutching her sides.

"Oh, sister... You're funny..." chuckled one of the ladies who had not yet spoke.

"Anyway... Something of the utmost importance is occurring..." began the Hesperide who had been interrupted. "Things are stirring in the night... Things that even our father, Atlas, fears. Even now, he struggles to hold the sky upon the yawning weight of the abyss. Well, it is up to thee to decide. His struggle is becoming less and less prudent, and he grows one step closer out of his prison for each day that passes."

"Um, is it just me, or does that phrase sound all ominous and creepy and stuff?" Leo said, raising his hands into the air.

Frank and Eva gave the son of Hephaestus some stares that obviouisly said: _well duh!_

Calypso looked tense. "Sisters... Maybe we should take this conversation elsewhere..."

With that, Calypso and two of the Hesperides huddled near a rock, and began whispering in hushed tones.

To Leo, this trip was starting to take a weird turn. Here was Calypso and her half sisters chattering away at each other, when it looked like they were about to commit bloody murder not a minute ago.. Now, Leo was no expert on emotions, but he was pretty sure that there was supposed to be some sort of rivalry vibe between Calypso and the Hesperides... Then again, Calypso wasn't the one who fell out of Atlas' favor.

Leo remembered an old story he had been told at Camp Half-Blood. Percy Jackson had mentioned someone named Zoe Nightshade, who was also a daughter of Atlas. Sadly enough, she fell out of Atlas favor, and became the scorn of the Titans. After eons of hunting with Lady Artemis, Zoe had returned to this mountain with Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace, only to die at the hands of her father himself.

So much for a cheerful reunion! Even though Calypso didn't seem to be out of favor with Atlas, Leo assured himself that he would stick up for her. If Atlas so much as laid a hand on Calypso, Leo swore that he would march up to the general of the Titans and give him one godly smack upside the face.

Unfortunately, a guttural growl interrupted Leo out of his thoughts. Calypso's sisters were still embroiled in conversation with her, and they seemed to ignore whatever that growling was coming from. Sadly, one of the Hesperides noticed just what was happening.

"No! We were too loud!" moaned one of the Hesperides, stomping her foot.

"Holy-," began Eva, taking a step back toward the car.

"Eva, what's up with you?" asked Leo, wondering what the heck the mortal was on about.

In response, Eva could only point to something behind Leo.

Turning around, Leo's worst fears were realized. Hundreds of eyes were locked on Leo's face, and they all belonged to Ladon. The dragon stirred, and began unwrapping himself from the root of the golden tree. His feet echoed and rumbled on the ground, as they stomped themselves into submission. Ladon hissed, and all of his heads let out a guttural roar, with the horrible stench of dragon breath reaching Leo's nostrils.

Calypso and several of her sisters broke away from their conversation, and stared at Ladon with horror.

One of the Hesperides shrugged. "Oh well. At least he woke up slower than last time..."

"LAST TIME?!" said Leo, Frank, and Eva, in perfect synchronization.

Even as all this happened, Ladon's breath wafted through Leo's nose, and he had to gag. Leo thought that the dragon had the most horrible breath of any dragon that he had ever encountered. And yes, that counted Frank as a dragon! And Festus! And... well... just about every other kind of dragon in the known universe.

"GAWWWWWROOOARRRWW!" bellowed Ladon, shooting sprays of poison into the air.

"Um... Let's go! See you later, sister!" chimed another one of the Hesperides, as the four sisters vanished into thin air.

Calypso threw up her hands. "Just great! I finally have some sisters who just started to learn how to speak in modern day jargon! Then you had to go and scare them off!"

In response, Ladon spewed a bucketful of acid toward Calypso's direction. Leo nearly had a heart attack at that moment, and ran to shove his girlfriend out of the way. Frank nocked his bow, and began firing arrows at the dragon.

Leo could feel the heat of the acid over his hair, but he focused on getting Calypso out of harm's way. Leo's back hit the ground with a _thud__, _as Calypso landed on top of him, disorientated from the sudden snap of battle.

Rolling over, Leo struggled to get the bearings of his position. Somehow, he and Calypso had winded up on the opposite side of Ladon, directly adjacent to the tree that the dragon guarded. Taking a closer look, Leo felt a strange urge to eat the apples that lay dangling from its branches. Leo felt like he could mistake those apples for the apples of discord, rather than the apples of immortality. Calypso had explained earlier that the garden contained the apples of immortality- Hera's wedding gift to Zeus. Those two kinds of apples were totally different things. At least one of them didn't start a massive war between the gods that got thousands of people killed.

"Leo! We need to go! My sisters say that time is of the essence!" gasped Calypso, as she struggled up from the ground.

"Oh really? Is that what all of you were having a hush-hush conversation about? Baby, you know I can get in any conversation!" growled Leo, waving his arms around.

"Ugh, LEO! I don't have time for this! Listen, see that path over there?"

Leo gazed ahead of an advancing Ladon, and saw a small, rocky path winding upwards to the very summit of the mountain.

The wind howled at that moment, rippling through Leo's curly hair. The sky thundered, and lightning began flashing throughout the evening sky. The gray horizon present earlier in the day was even darker now, spreading mirages throughout the entire Bay Area. A loud _bang_ rippled through Leo's ears, making him clutch them in agony. Ahead, even Ladon looked disorientated by the sudden noise, and several of the dragon's heads began bashing each other.

"Frank, Eva! Quick! Ladon's disorientated right now.. SO GET OVER HERE!" Calypso ordered, waving toward the path.

"Come on guys! You heard what the lady said!" Leo cried, motioning for Frank and Eva to run for the beaten path.

The son of Mars and the mortal quickly skirted around Ladon, while the dragon thrashed in confusion. Leo wondered if some sort of divine power was at work- keeping the dragon at bay. Wait, they were living in a world of gods... Of course there would be divine interference. With a sly smile, Leo realized that this could be an act of the gods' indirect interference...

Backtracking on all that, Leo remembered the message he got from New Athens once Festus had touched down in New Rome yesterday. The note contained an explanation from Zeus, about disallowing any further direct interference. The lord of the skies had been adamant about it, but he still allowed indirect interference under extreme circumstances.

The letter had also contained news about Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Lou Ellen. Leo nearly had a heart attack when he heard that all of them nearly died during their fight in Nashville. Thankfully, his friends were now safely journeying to Seattle, due to the help of some sort of river dude named Dave. Leo reminded himself to give the river god a big bro hug if he ever saw him.

"Okay, okay, here!" panted Frank, as he and Eva reached Leo and Calypso.

"Aw, Frank! You're such a hero!" gasped Leo, patting his friend on the back.

The son of Mars shot Leo a look of distaste, and grabbed Eva by the arm.

"Right this way, guys!" Calypso said, motioning for the group to traverse the beaten path.

As Leo reached the path first, five feet away, he gazed back at Ladon. The dragon looked like he was in pain, which had to make Leo's heart ache. All of Ladon's heads were howling in rage, and spewing out acid in random directions. Thankfully, none of the acid was aimed at Leo.

"Leo, you coming?" asked Calypso, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Um.. Yeah... Sorry!" Leo stammered, turning to face his incredibly hot girlfriend. Ahead of Calypso, Frank and Eva were already climbing the path to the summit.

"What's on your mind?" questioned Calypso, scrunching her forehead.

"Oh... Nothing... Cal, is it just me, or does Ladon remind me of the _thing_ we saw in Ecuador?"

The daughter of Atlas looked at Ladon in pity. "I can see why you feel bad for him now... But come on Leo, we have a job to do. We'll talk later..."

"Right... I-I don't know what came over me... I'm sorry!"

"Be sorry later... Don't worry about it!" smiled Calypso, giving Leo a light kiss on the lips.

With that, Leo felt himself being pulled up the path by Calypso, walking away from an agonized Ladon.

No... Leo realized that there was one time where he felt this kind of sorrow. He felt all his walled humor break down just by staring at the dragon, which gave him twisted knots in his stomach.

Even now, as they scaled Mount Tam, Leo realized the intensity of what was to come, if Ladon's pain was anything to go by.

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**Well? I hope this was an interesting chapter! Be sure to review and follow!**


	35. XXXV: Leo

**Well, well, well.. Here I am with another chapter! This one is a WHOPPER, with 4,000 words! This is a two-part meeting chapter, so don't worry! The time with Atlas is not over, and the meeting will still continue through the next chapter! **

**And... THIS IS THE REVEAL CHAPTER! THE CHAPTER WHERE THE VILLAIN IS REVEALED, AT LONG LAST! **

**For those of you who guessed right in previous reviews... You win a private one-shot created by me! I'll PM it to you happy guys and gals once I complete it in a few days... Enjoy!**

**Reviews:**

**Guest #1: Thanks! I'm pleased that you think this is a good story! This should be a whopper of a chapter... So, enjoy!**

**Court: Personally, the Last Olympian was my favorite in the original series... After all, who doesn't like an epic battle taking place in Manhattan for 70% of the book, with an army of Party Ponies charging in, and the prophecy being fulfilled? With that being said, the last battle in Blood of Olympus was such a disappointment for me... I really thought that Gaea would be awake for longer, and the gods and both combined armies of CHB and CJ would work together against her.**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Well... Maybe you'll get your fangirl moment here... I think it will be very, very interesting! This whole meeting with Atlas will last two chapters, thus finishing up Leo. This is a whopper chapter- 4,000 words! And there is *much* feels in this one... Not done though! There will be even more feels in the next one! The meeting lasts two chapters, after all... :P**

**Guest #2: We have to remember here, this story is all about everyone! But if you want to see a tad bit of Percy, zoom to chapter 24-28. He has a brief action scene in #28. But don't worry, he will be coming very shortly in this story! Everyone has a part in it... be patient! And thanks for the kind words! I work VERY hard on this story, and it's nice to see appreciation!**

**So, without further ado... Enjoy!**

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**XXXV: Leo**

**Even before reaching the summit, Leo could hear a guttural sound**. His legs burned and ached from climbing, even though the distance wasn't all that bad. Jagged rocks bit at Leo's skin as he continued scaling the beaten path. It reminded him of the time where he ascended up to Aeolus' palace on Pikes Peak, minus all those wolves trying to kill him, that was.

"I-I can't go on any further! I-It's... t-too far!" Leo stammered, dropping to his knees.

"You big baby! You and I both know you can do more than that!" exclaimed Calypso, driving a light kick to Leo's shin.

"NOO! T-that hurt!" groaned Leo, clutching his legs.

Behind Leo, Frank sighed. "Leo, would it make you feel better if I turned into a bear? Then you can hop on and take a nap while we finish up without you..."

"Sounds great! Go ahead!"

Leo swore that he heard Calypso and Eva facepalm. The two girls looked like they were fed up, which was probably the case. Leo knew it was just his general awesomeness that was making them act like that.

A rumble shook the mountain as Frank transformed into a bear. His skin sprouted brown fur, and his hands became paws. Frank's face elongated into a snout, adorned with beady black eyes. Sharp teeth racked his mouth, and a growl purred from his throat.

"Sweet sauce!" exclaimed Leo, as Frank finished his transformation.

In response, Frank could only roar. Leo raised his hands in surrender, and climbed up on Frank the bear. Eva and Calypso also clambered on Frank, and motioned for him to continue.

Well, this was new. Leo was pretty sure that climbing up a mountaintop on a bear wasn't exactly common. Leo tried doing that with a real bear once- it didn't work. What actually did happen, though, was running away at twenty miles an hour from an angry mama bear. After that incident, Leo swore that he wouldn't go near any other real bears for the rest of his life. Except for the demigod-turning-into-magical-bear ones, of course.

"Onwards to the summit!" Leo ordered, being sure to put on his dramatic boss voice.

Frank grumbled, and began trotting up the trail. As that happened, Leo had to think about the Wild West. He had to guess that Frank would make a really, really good horse. Or perhaps, a bear running through a saloon while kicking its hind legs would be better.

"You know, my day just keeps getting weirder and weirder..." mused Eva, gripping on tightly to Frank's fur.

"Now you've got it down! A demigod's life just gets weirder and weirder every single day! Except the days we're not threatened with death... Which is a weird day in itself..." Leo shot back.

Looking at Calypso, Leo noticed that the daughter of Atlas seemed a little bit nervous. Of course she would be nervous! Leo felt that if he hadn't seen his dad in thousands of years, it would make him nervous too. Also, he had no idea how Atlas would act, considering that he was supposed to be a bad guy or something. Leo hoped that he was wrong, though.

Frank the bear began nearing the summit of the mountain, with the expanse of land starting to curve flat just several yards away. Leo felt an _oompf_ elict out of him as Frank reared his back, making Leo slide down to the ground. Calypso and Eva barely hung on, looking pleased with themselves. Leo had to think that there was some sort of conspiracy going around to get rid of his super-awesome charisma...

Calypso and Eva slid off of Frank, as the son of Mars morphed back into human form. Even now, Frank's ease of shape-shifting impressed Leo. The legacy of Poseidon-many-times-removed was so fluent in his motions, that it reminded Leo of the time that Percy made the weird dolphin-hybrid dudes jump off of the Argo II.

Speaking of the Argo II, Leo missed his ship. Sure, it was incredibly cool to fly throughout the sky with the best dragon in the world and a hot girlfriend, but there was something missing... During the whole world tour with Calypso, Leo drew some new plans in his spare time, while in some hotel rooms. He envisioned a bigger and better Argo II... and it would be more than three times the length. It would be called the Argo III!

Even now, as events were coming to pass, Leo couldn't help but feel that he might need to make the ship soon. Thankfully, he could just order an army of Roman builders to help him out! Then the ship could be done in a couple of weeks... probably.

"There it is... Up ahead!" said Calypso, pointing to the slope of the summit.

"YES! After a long and arduous journey, our task is complete!" Leo cheered, raising his hands in the air.

Calypso rolled her eyes, and started walking for the summit. Leo followed at her heels, while Frank and Eva pursued closely.

"CURSE THIS INFERNAL SKY!" bellowed a new voice, which had to make Calypso gasp. Leo swore that he saw a tear running down her face.

As Leo completed the ascent to the summit, which was only a few more feet away, he saw something that amazed him.

In front of Leo, clouds swirled and twisted in the sky, all extending into a downwards spiral onto the shoulders of a man a hundred meters away. Beads of sweat appeared on the guy's forehead, as he wrestled back and forth with the pillar of clouds.

"SHUT IT!" Atlas roared, shooting a glance to the sky.

Well, Leo assumed that it was Atlas. The Titan was ten feet tall, and was wearing a smart suit. Lightly-shaded brown skin was the focus of his features, and hatred was evident in his eyes. It was almost as if the dude was trying to decide whether or not to eat shrimp at a five-course buffet.

"Daddy?" said Calypso, in a small voice. Atlas' daughter came to a stop next to Leo, and gazed at her father.

In response, the general of the Titans looked down from his staring match with the sky, and his eyes softened.

The immediate mood around the area grew darker. The sound of stunned silence was interrupted by Frank's whistling.

"Um, Eva... Why don't you stand guard or something?" Leo suggested, as Eva shuffled uncomfortably.

"Sure! I'll just be down the path for a little while... And I hope things go okay..." said the mortal, sauntering back down the beaten path.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my guests... And my dear daughter, of course..." said Atlas, struggling under his burden.

"Dad!" exclaimed Calypso, sprinting the entire length of the mountaintop to reach her father.

If Leo was a woman, he would find this scene totally emotional. No, wait... That was creepy. Then again, having a reunion with your estranged father scored a sixty-four on Leo's list. If Calypso's sprint of freedom was anything to go by, Leo wouldn't mind if that happened with him and his dad, Hephaestus. Of course, Leo would have to do a manly walk in his own McShizzleness of awesomeness!

"Oh Dad, you have no idea how good it is to see you!" Calypso exclaimed, while hugging her father around his neck, being careful to avoid the crushing weight of the sky.

"Should we give them a moment or something?" whispered Frank, tapping his feet.

"Yeah, sure. Let's turn our backs to give them some privacy or something... As long as we don't die, that is!" Leo retorted, turning away from Calypso's tearful reunion. Frank did the same, being careful not to accidentally turn into an animal and offend the general of the Titans.

"Is it just me, or does this feel like _Taken _to you?" muttered Frank, shooting a glance over his shoulder.

"Hey, I practically invented _Taken!_ Everyone knows Calypso and her daddy are probably having the time of their lives!" Leo boasted, taking a glance at Calypso and Atlas.

The general of the Titans and his daughter seemed to be immersed in a deep conversation. Calypso's eyes were brimmed with tears, and it looked like Atlas was doing his best to reassure her. Now, Leo wasn't an expert on parent relationships, but he didn't know that an all-powerful Titan could actually be this caring. Well, more like one who tried to take over the world a couple of years ago.

Turning back to face the horizon, Leo racked his brain to think of social interaction tips. Several months ago, Calypso had forced Leo to promise to work on his social skills, and the son of Hephaestus had grudgingly agreed.

"So... How's life?" began Leo, twiddling his thumbs.

"Pretty good. Besides the fact we might die soon in another apocalypse..." shrugged Frank.

"Good... Good... So, how are things with you and Hazel?"

"It's actually going well. We were planning this picnic in the woods before you fell into New Rome, and all this crazy stuff started happening..."

"Well, sorry to ruin your plans..."

"Nah, it's not a problem. Personally, I think Hazel was just more relieved to see you alive. Not that I wasn't grateful or anything! In fact, I was totally ecstatic when you came back!" stammered Frank.

"Aw, thanks Frank! I didn't know you missed me that much!" gasped Leo, putting his hands around his heart.

As Frank was about to bite back with a snarky remark, Calypso's voice reached Leo's ears. Turning around, Leo noticed Calypso gesturing for him to come over.

"Come on Leo! My dad wants to talk to you!"

_Oh, dear gods_... Leo thought. This was SO not his day. Now, he was about to get grilled by the all-powerful Atlas, who totally deserved respect because he was Calypso's dad! Leo felt that he thought that just in case Atlas could read minds. Slowly, but carefully, Leo began tiptoeing over to Atlas, who was giving him some sort of weird death look.

As Leo sauntered over, Calypso lightly kissed him on the lips, and dragged him to Atlas' eye level.

Being this close to the general of the Titans made Leo uncomfortable. The sky was an ashen gray, swirling around Atlas' shoulder. If Leo didn't know any better, he would guess that Atlas was wearing a superhero cape made of clouds.

"So, this is the infamous Leo Valdez..." growled Atlas, shuffling his shoulders to adjust the weight of the sky.

"You've heard of me?! Oh, I'm so honored!" gasped Leo, doing his best to turn on the humor.

"Ha... Ha... Ha..." growled Atlas. "So... What's this I hear about dating my daughter?"

Leo could feel himself doing a sweatdrop. "Well... Your daughter is kind of hot and all that... And she's a super-awesome nice person! Oh, did I mention she saved my life too? Oh, and... and... She makes good food!"

Atlas' glare seemed to warn Leo to shut up, so he did.

"If your etiquette is anything to go by, son of Hephaestus... I would say that you're not worthy to date my daughter..." mused Atlas.

"Dad! I told you about my freedom of choice!" butted in Calypso.

Atlas blinked. "Are you pregnant, my child?"

"Oh, _gods no!_" Calypso exclaimed, with a red blush forming on her face. "Why would you even think that?!"

"Daughter... It's a known fact that this whole tension between you and the son of Hephaestus amounts up to _unusual_ things."

"W-wha?!" spluttered Calypso.

"Now, now, Cal... Your father is totally right! We're the epitome of awesomeness!" Leo boasted, waving his hands around.

"B-but! I swear to you, I'm not pregnant or anything! We were being carefu-... Um... Is that the time?!" Calypso nervously chuckled.

Atlas' look was murderous. "Have you been doing anything with him?! LET ME AT HIM!"

The general of the Titans roared, and tried snapping at Leo. Unfortunately, the weight of the sky pressed at him, rendering him unable to move. As this happened, Leo genuinely feared for his life.

"Dad... Please! I promise you, Leo is worth it! Just let him prove himself or something..."

Atlas took a deep breath to compose himself. The ten-foot tall man took another glance at the sky, then turned his gaze to rest right on Calypso's eyes. Leo could have sworn that the puppy-dog look Calypso was giving Atlas was the reason why the dude was trying to calm down.

"After all... I-I mean... Trust me, just ask him stuff!" stuttered Calypso.

"Silence, daughter... If Valdez wants to prove himself to me, then so be it. I would kindly appreciate it if you allowed us to speak alone..."

"Well, Daddy... You want to speak to him alone? I guess I'll talk to Frank then..." sighed Calypso, walking over to where Frank was.

Leo had to give his girlfriend some respect there. If the time ever came, he felt that Calypso would make a pretty good negotiator. She held her own against Atlas, and withdrew when the Titan asked. Even though Atlas was subject to the Titan's curse, Leo felt that it wasn't the best idea to tick him off. He was pretty sure that Atlas would be even more deadly than Orion, the hunter who had pursued Reyna on her quest.

Awkward silence descended over Leo and the general of the Titans. Leo could feel Atlas' eyes scan him over, almost as if the Titan was trying to decide whether Leo was a threat or not. Well, that was probably happening anyway...

"Am I to assume that you wanted to ask me something?" Atlas questioned, breaking the silence.

"Um, well... um..." muttered Leo, putting his hands to his toolbelt.

Leo felt that he was being a disappointment to himself. He was ready to start cracking some jokes and offer some breath mints, but his voice was now failing him. Huh, maybe Piper was onto something when Percy's blood got spilled two years ago and woke up Gaea from her eternal sleep. It certainly wasn't one of Leo's better days when that happened... Not to mention, he died.

"Well... uhm... Sir... I was hoping to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage sometime... And it would be kind of cool to have your blessing and all that?" Leo enunciated, composing himself.

Atlas raised his eyebrows. "You're asking me to give you my blessing to marry my daughter?"

"Well, in all demigodnishness... Yes."

"Then no. You are not worthy of Calypso's affection!" growled Atlas, who struggled to his feet.

Leo's eyes widened at that. First off, he was pretty sure that the sky should have been heavy enough to keep Atlas kneeling to the ground. Second, why not?! Leo was convinced that he was the perfect person for Calypso! His swagginess would be able to sweep her off into the sunset! That, and Leo felt like he would do a pretty good job of protecting her with his hammer.

"Hey now! I'm pretty sure that I can protect her!" exclaimed Leo, responding back to Atlas' retort.

"Then tell me... son of Hephaestus, what would you ever do?"

"What would I do? Well, I would hold Calypso for each and every day for the rest of my life! I would be there if she ever got sick, and even if she showed resentment towards me! I was there since day one... Heck, I died for her! I broke her curse on Ogygia, and I promised to carry her away from her prison! I keep my promises, Atlas... And I don't break them as easily as other people do!" Leo ranted, starting to feel his anger boil.

"That's all well and said, son of Hephaestus. But know this- Calypso is my daughter, and while we are not on the best of terms, I still care for her as a father."

"Yes, I know that! The classic father-going-all-crazy-in-protection thing!" exclaimed Leo, wrangling his hands.

The general of the Titans gave Leo an odd look. "That's not the only thing. As far as I am aware, you are the sole reason that my daughter gave up her immortality, as she told me earlier?"

Leo could only nod his head. Also, he had no idea that Calypso told her father that. Then again, Leo didn't hear his girlfriend and her father's talk while he was occupied with the whole 'back turned out of respect' thing.

"Very interesting... Are you prepared to take care of her for the rest of her now mortal life? Although I have absolutely NO idea why she would ever do that in the first place... Even for someone like you..." Atlas sighed.

"Listen, dude. I know you're not all on board with the fact that I want to marry your daughter... But I want it to happen, and there ain't any stopping me!" Leo said, defending his honor for all it was worth. "And I know that I'm probably being rude or something... But are you okay? I thought you would be more threatening and stuff... Either that, or you've been sniffing some Greek fire..."

Atlas laughed. "Perhaps your humor is sharper than I originally thought, little demigod... And how very observant of you..."

The Titan's face returned to a serious look. "After my attempt to break free several years ago, the actions of Percy Jackson cast my doubts into a new light. It got me thinking... especially since I've been trapped here for the second time in a row... Then more recent events took place, of which I've noticed. Even here, in my prison, I could sense the destruction of the Earth Mother rock the skies."

"Um... well, that's all cool and stuff, but that doesn't explain why you're being all nice and stuff..." Leo said.

Atlas sighed. "Very well. I will explain, small one. Before we bring Calypso over here once more, just know this... marrying my daughter will be a difficult thing. She has many temperaments, and I wish of you to be aware of this. Make her happy... understood?"

"Wait, so is that a yes?!" cheered Leo, jumping up into the air.

"As much as I don't like this... I want her to be happy... So... with great difficulty, and as it pains me to say this... _fine_..." sighed the Titan, shifting the sky's weight once more.

Leo had to elicit a wide grin. He thought that it was going to be _wayyyyy_ more difficult to persuade Atlas, but it appeared that the Titan had a change of heart. If Calypso's talk with her dad had anything to do with it, Leo reminded himself to give his girlfriend a ten-minute makeout session. Well, maybe fiancee someday soon if all went well... Leo's mind began racking up with ways to propose. One thing was for sure- he was going to involve the rest of his friends. Being away for two years kind of made Leo feel bad, and he wanted to get re-involved with everyone as soon as possible.

"Demigod? Yoohoo?" Atlas droned, jarring Leo out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah.. Sorry!" Leo apologized. "Did you want anything?"

The general of the Titans rolled his eyes. "Just get Calypso and the son of Mars over here... There's something that I have to tell all of you..."

Pft, as if that wasn't ominous enough. Leo thought that he would really appreciate it if Atlas' news was about something cheerful... Like a birthday party or something! Immortals had to have birthdays, right? Even though they were kind of eons old and stuff...

Turning to Calypso and Frank, Leo noticed that they were immersed in a deep conversation, using their hands as signals. He decided to interrupt the little reunion by yelling out loud.

"Hey, Calypso, Frank, come over here!" Leo ordered, motioning to Atlas. "This guy is going to tell us an awesome story!"

At that, Atlas did an eyeroll. Leo felt incredibly honored that he got to witness the very first eyeroll from a Titan! He reminded himself to get Atlas a banner that said "Welcome to the Modern World!" or something.

"I'm coming! Let's go, Frank!" said Calypso, dragging the legacy of Poseidon along with her.

"So... Daddy... Did you and Leo have a good talk?" Calypso asked, as she halted right in front of Leo and Atlas.

Up close, Leo had to admit that Calypso was looking pretty _fine._ Her blue denim jeans complemented her eyes well, and she looked truly happy for the first time in a while. Leo had to guess that was because she had a tearful reunion with her father.

"It was all well and good, daughter... Now, for more pressing matters. I believe you are here for a reason, yes?"

"Yes... Dad. I want to know what's going on here... You and I both know something old is stirring... Even something before our time!"

"Yes, the lady is totally right!" Leo interrupted. "The last two years have been crazy for the both of us! I'm telling ya, man... _Venti_ were attacking everywhere! The monster attacks keep getting worse... Ever since that incident a year ago, things have been getting... wacky."

For Leo, wacky was an understatement. The first year touring the world with Calypso had gone well, until stuff started happening last year... An incident in some ancient ruins in Tibet genuinely made Leo concerned for what was going to happen. He didn't think that it was very important to mention, but since _things_ were stirring, he regretted not telling the whole of New Athens what happened.

Atlas' mood darkened, and the Titan began to speak. "Even now, as I hold up the sky, things are stirring. Believe it or not, my burden grows lighter and lighter as each day passes... A primordial god will return soon, unless you can stop him. And, dear daughter, you know of whom I speak."

"So I'm right then..." mused Calypso, with a serious look crossing past her face.

"Wait, what?" asked Frank, who was previously silent the whole time.

"Can you not see it, even now? Look at me; I am standing on my feet!" exclaimed Atlas, struggling to raise to his feet yet again.

"Whoa... That's... interesting..." stuttered Frank, taking a step back from the general of the Titans.

To Leo, the whole scene reminded him of _Superman_. Heh, only if Superman happened to be a ten-foot tall immortal Titan who could destroy all of Western civilization in a few weeks, give or take.

"Dad! I didn't know _he _was stirring that quickly!" gaped Calypso.

"Whoa, whoa..." began Leo, making the time-out sign. "If we're talking about the big guy upstairs, then shouldn't it be impossible for him to ever reform?"

"Um... What are you guys talking about?" asked Frank, with a puzzled expression.

It took all of Leo's willpower to gaze at Frank. Next to him, Calypso and Atlas did the same thing, gazing upon the son of Mars.

What Atlas said next made Leo's blood chill. He had been avoiding the topic, denying its plausibility. But if that dude was returning, then what hope did the Western world have? Obviously, _he_ would return bigger, better, and stronger than last time. After all, what was worse than a primordial who learnt from his mistakes the first time?

"The first god of the sky... He will wake once more, and ravage the throes of the world itself... Ouranos will return..." Atlas said, ominously.

* * *

**Well? I hope you all liked! The meeting continues next chapter, with more feels!**


	36. XXXVI: Leo

**Hey guys! So, Leo wraps up today! Also, apologies for the slow update time lately... Been taking a small "chillax" break for myself. Also, after six months on fanfiction.. I finally found the replace chapter button! I know... I'm totally clueless.. So, most of that time was spent fixing a few of the earlier chapters, adding linebreaks and some grammar fixes.**

**Reviews:**

**Lovedystopia: Yeah, it's the final streak-ending of school, isn't it? Well, on the bright side, this book will be done by June! Yup, that's right... I'm finally on the home stretch! I predict that this book will be done by the beginning of June. As for Atlas' actions... you'll have to see later on in the series. He does give a few hints on what he's going to do in this chapter, however.**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Yup! Someday soon... If they all don't die, that is. Here's the next chapter for your enjoyment!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XXXVI: Leo**

**The ominous mood totally ruined Leo's day.** There he was, about to go all bada-boom on whatever was coming, then... BAM! News of the sky literally reforming hit him like a ton of bricks. Leo could feel his expression contort up and down in moments of confusion and denial.

After defeating Gaea, Leo thought that it was over. He never imagined that the very same primordial's demise in which he used to defeat Gaea would turn around to bite him back in the butt. Well, Leo did have his suspicions that it would happen, but Atlas' confirmation just made it worse.

The stunned silence radiating around the mountain was interrupted by Frank's confused expression.

"Ouranos? You mean the primordial that the other Titans cut down?" Frank questioned.

"Precisely. I don't know what you demigods have been doing, but I can sense the consciousness of Father Sky slowly being reformed..." growled Atlas. "And I mean it quite literally. I'm... well... holding him up, basically."

"Whoa, now. I know you hate Ouranos and all that, if I remember right... But what's up with the whole Father Sky dealio?" Leo asked, scratching his head.

Atlas sighed. "Little demigod, names have power. Just as our benefactor, Gaea, was referred to as Mother Earth... Ouranos, in our time, the time of the Titans, was known to us as Father Sky. _He_ was the lord of the heavens themselves, blanketing the Earth in all its glory."

"Daddy... A little too excessive there?" suggested Calypso, crossing her arms. "And that's besides the point. Ouranos is reawakening... but how is he going to do it? And how can he even reform a consciousness again?"

Leo was pretty sure that he wanted to know. The last time he remembered, once a primordial's consciousness was ripped apart in so many pieces, they could never again reform... That was his hope when Gaea blew up in his created-inferno. Well, that, and a comet that seemed to scream like a little girl for some reason... Or as other demigods liked to call it, "The Octavian Missile..."

"I-It's hard to tell..." sighed Atlas. "For quite some time now, I've been using my influence under the sky to discern how or why this event could possibly occur again... I thought that when Ouranos was cut to pieces by Kronos, that was the end of him. Apparently, I was wrong..."

"Kronos? You mean the dude that Percy beat in the Battle of Manhattan a few years ago?" Frank inquired, rubbing his hands together.

"PERCY JACKSON!" bellowed Atlas.

The rage in the Titan's voice was so great that it knocked Leo off of his feet. Both Calypso and Frank collapsed as well, trembling from mini seismic waves. Fear was evident on Calypso's face as she gazed upon her father.

"OF ALL THE THINGS YOU COULD SAY, YOU JUST HAD TO MENTION PERCY JACKSON! I HATE HIS ROTTEN GUTS! BLAST THAT WRETCHED DEMIGOD FOR HIS TRICKERY!" roared the Titan, extending his arms into the air. The sky lifted up with it, extending to a scary height.

"Wow, wow... Okay... A little overkill, dude. But what did Percy do to you that made you so angry, anyway?" Leo inquired, struggling to hold his own against the rage of the Titan.

Looking back at Calypso, Leo saw a look of pain streak through her eyes for an instant. Even though Calypso was on cool terms with Percy now, Leo knew that she was briefly reminded of her tumultuous past with him. It made Leo feel better that he was able to swoop in all heroic-like and rescue Calypso from her totally-uncool eternal prison.

"GRAHH! Ever since I tried to break free several years ago, the combined forces of Percy Jackson and Artemis pinned me back under the sky once more... And with that, I began thinking hard... Especially since recent events have begun to show in their true light. The gods are far better than what is to come, anyway..." explained Atlas, finally starting to calm down.

"But aren't the gods your sworn enemy for all time?" Frank butted in, struggling to his feet.

Atlas narrowed his eyes. "Frank Zhang... Legacy of Poseidon. Blood of Pylos... Very interesting. It wasn't necessary of you to come on this quest, but I do appreciate the fact that my daughter brought you as insurance. I would have told you what's going on, anyway..."

"Okay... So I brought him for nothing... Good to know..." Calypso sighed, crossing her arms. Atlas' daughter clambered up to her feet, recovering from the seismic-shock waves that radiated from her father's voice.

"Hey!" exclaimed Frank, raising his hands up.

"Oh, sorry... I didn't mean in that way!" Calypso apologized.

An awesome girl who could speak bluntly, then take it back in the next second? Leo knew he was in love at that moment. Well, two years... but still. If Calypso was going to be Mrs. Valdez soon... Leo felt that he was going to have to teach her a few things. One of those things would have to be learning how to ski while catching on fire at the same time! It was practically a tradition!

"But anyway... Sir, why would you even help us in the first place?" Frank continued.

"The gods may be sworn enemies of mine, but even I have learnt to put it aside. _Nothing_, and I mean _nothing,_ is worse than Ouranos, my grandfather... The first chance he gets... he'll destroy us all. First and foremost, Father Sky has always been the ultimate enemy of the Titans. Take the Elder Cyclopes and the Hundred-Handed ones, for instance. Ouranos threw them into Tartarus after seeing their deformities in his eyes... He didn't treat us much better, either... So why do you think Kronos cut him up in the first place?" Atlas mused.

"Wow... That's a little intense..." muttered Leo.

To Leo, it wasn't a horribly bad idea to have a Titan on their side. After all, he was pretty sure that the rest of the gods would appreciate a super-awesome blowy-uppy Titan wreaking havoc on the battlefield if he broke free from his prison. Providing, of course, if said Titan didn't go all rogue on them like in _Terminator._

"Mind you, I don't have a love for the gods, but even I would be willing to assist. Ouranos is worse than the gods. And that's where it ends there. I would only be willing to assist in the defeat of Father Sky if he will wake. Nothing else..." Atlas said, seemingly reading Leo's mind.

"Sir, that's great and all... But what's the guarantee that he would ever wake? If he really got sliced into millions of pieces all these years ago... Then how is reforming possible?" Frank inquired, looking confused.

"Oh, come on! I may be a Titan, but I'm no oracle! I don't know how Ouranos would wake again... It's up to you demigods to stop him..." Atlas stated, putting on a face of intense thought.

"Oh, great! So, I guess we need to go on another quest of doom to stop him!" Leo exclaimed, trying to make the best of the situation. "But seriously, dude. We don't even know where to start looking..."

This was basically another round of _Clue_ for Leo. Except, this time, the bad guy turned out to be the sky itself! Huh, talk about a mystery that was already solved... Still... how and where was Ouranos supposed to attempt waking up? Leo remembered two years ago, when Gaea woke up in Athens.

Suddenly, Atlas' face lit up. "I sense a great stirring of the sky... Up north... Seattle, Washington... Something ominous is occurring in that area..."

"Hey, wait, wait... Isn't that where Jason and everyone else in that super-awesome quest is heading?" Leo asked.

"I-I think it is... If stuff is happening down there, then we really have some problems..." Calypso mused, with a worried look on her face.

"Oh, yes... yes..." murmured Atlas. "I can sense the impeding danger that your friends are walking into... A trap has been set for them... And Father Sky's agitation is growing. Whatever he's trying to do to regain consciousness... What will occur in Seattle is just one step of his plan..."

At that moment, Leo's heart sank. His best friends were about to walk into a death trap?!

"Leo..." said Calypso.

Leo locked eyes with Calypso, and their agreement was the same: _we have to warn the others... now._

Leo felt determination burn in his eyes. He wasn't about to lose his best friends again... Not after the whole disappearing-for-two-years-then-coming-back-to-life-surprising-everyone fiasco. Granted, it was kind of cool seeing all the shocked looks on his friends' faces... But saving them was more important. Jason, Piper, and Hazel were first and foremost to Leo's heart. Well, except Calypso, but yeah.

"Wait... Hazel's on that quest too.. We have to go save them!" Frank panicked, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, duh!" Leo droned. "Frank, our nearest and dearest friends are about to die a horrific death, and it is up to us, the shining knights in armor, to save them!"

In response, Frank, Calypso, and Atlas all eye-rolled at Leo. It was then that Leo realized how awesome he was at the art of making people eye-roll!

"Mooooving on..." drawled Calypso. "There's no time to waste! If Ouranos has a plan in Seattle... Then the Fates must be involved! Remember, the letter we got from the others said that they were heading to Seattle... And the Fates are there... That's no coincidence..."

"Of course it's not! Anything godly is in no way a coincidence! Cal, haven't you seen the last two to three years of our life!?" Leo moaned, burying his face in his palms.

"Leo... Just go with it. We have to leave... like... right _now..._" Calypso ordered.

"I gotta save Hazel. Come on guys... This is going to be really, really bad..." Frank sighed.

"Okay, I'm a big fan for leaving now and stuff... But I have one last question for Atlas here... Will the sky be affected in any way if Ouranos wakes?" Leo asked, trying to wrest one last answer from the Titan.

"Dad... I just had a thought..." Calypso said, looking horrified. "I'm not a big fan of Zeus, but-"

The sky rumbled, interrupting Calypso's monologue. Lightning crackled and flashed in the sky, making Leo jump. A roar of thunder was heard in the distance, but the howling rage of the wind masked the sound.

"Very interesting... Seems like something is interfering with Zeus..." mused Atlas. "Anyway, dear daughter, will you continue?"

"Okay..." began the daughter of Atlas, shaking off the sudden interruption. "What happens to Zeus if Ouranos wakes up? Don't they both share the sky as their domain? Correct me if you may, but I'm pretty sure that Ouranos' power will overwhelm even Zeus. Olympus could be thrown into chaos, even more so than now!"

Leo had to admit that his incredibly hot girlfriend raised a good point. Since Zeus was king of the gods, him being indisposed could... well... cause _problems. _By problems, Leo was pretty sure that it would cause another massive form of helplessness, as the rest of the Olympian council would vie for power. And more importantly, what would happen to Zeus? Leo wasn't a big fan of the lord of the sky either, but some serious bad mojo could happen.

"Whatever it is, I don't know either. As I've said before, I'm no oracle..." grumbled Atlas. "But I can foresee a shadow on the horizon... A shadow in which it would consume the land... And Zeus- if he cannot overcome the sky itself. Being the lord of the sky is NOTHING compared to facing the literal sky itself... controlling and bending to its own whim..."

Pft, as if that didn't sound ominous enough to Leo. Scary? Check. Super-scary? Check. So scary that it's bed-wetting? Not-a-check. He felt that nothing could scare him anymore. In fact, he was willing to bet seventy-five dollars on it!

"Listen, Atlas. I don't know about you, but Ouranos seems to be a 'lil bit of a wimp... All we gotta do is get him down from the sky if he wakes up! Easy-peasy!" Leo boasted, puffing out his chest.

In response, Atlas glared at Leo, and began to speak.

_"If_ Ouranos does return, he will return stronger and better than ever before... Trust me, he WILL learn from his mistakes the first time. And I absolutely guarantee you that he'll create a complex plan for his safety. Leo Valdez, your battle with Gaea has not escaped the attention of Father Sky. No doubt, he has heard whispers about this- and he'll make sure that the same scenario doesn't happen _again..."_

"Whoa, so I'm all famous and stuff?! Yes, I'm on a first-name basis with the primordials!" Leo cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

"There is one more thing... The kidnapping of the Fates is no coincidence. I fear that Ouranos is using them for a nefarious purpose. Whatever is happening in Seattle right now... I can sense through the sky... It's being drawn to something in that area, somehow..." Atlas mused, shooting a quick glance at the rumbling clouds overhead.

"Whoa, and you can tell all that from holding up the sky! Dude! I want to grow up to be just like you! Um, not really... But you get my point!" stuttered Leo, trying to butter up to Atlas.

Atlas snorted. "Please. The more pressing concern is the oncoming darkness..."

"Oncoming darkness? Doesn't that sound like a line from the prophecy?" Calypso questioned.

Atlas raised his eyebrows. "There's another great prophecy? Oh, dear _us._ I'll refrain from asking... But my point is this- I can feel darkness and despair radiating from the clouds... Almost as if the entire sky itself was embroiled in a new turmoil of power..."

"Oh, so... Super-spooky stuff?!" Leo elicited, trying to return the mood to a run-off theme of the _Haunted Hathaways._

The general of the Titans was about to shoot back a comment, when Frank decided to interrupt. The son of Mars seemed to look agitated, when all of a sudden, his face shot up.

Frank's eyes widened. "Hey, is it just me, or has Eva been a little too quiet lately?"

Atlas cocked his head, seeming as if he was trying to hone onto something.

Leo momentarily had a panic attack. If that mortal was wandering off the mountain alone, Leo swore that he would go all _Aunt Rosa _up on her! Even though that wasn't going to happen, Leo was still annoyed that Eva probably decided to wander off. Just great... the last thing they needed on this mini-quest was to hire a babysitter... And Leo wasn't going to volunteer himself for it.

"It would seem... That mortal friend of yours has gone missing... She's not on this mountain- I don't sense her." Atlas muttered, looking like he was trying to figure something out.

"WHAT?! Then where is she!?" Frank screamed, making Leo nearly go deaf.

"Eva, Eva?!" Calypso called, scanning the mountaintop for her new mortal friend. Well, Leo assumed that they were friends.

"YES... LITTLE FOOLS..." echoed a voice, booming across the mountaintop.

With shock, Leo realized that he recognized that voice. It was the same voice from the dream that knocked him unconscious on the ride from Jefferson City back to New Rome. No... if the clues all added up right, this was Ouranos speaking! But how... how was this possible? Leo was no expert on resurrections, but he was pretty sure that Ouranos couldn't have enough power to even muster a form of communication yet.

Atlas cried in relief, as the burden around his shoulders shimmered for one instant. The general of the Titans stumbled, being thrown off by the sudden disappearance of the clouds.

"W-what is this?" stammered Atlas, gazing at his hands, and into the vast expanse of the clouds above.

In response, his burden appeared once more, crushing his shoulders. The general cried as he collapsed back onto his feet, struggling with the weight of the sky.

"Dad!" Calypso cried, in a voice that made Leo's heart nearly break.

Several hundred feet above Leo, several clouds morphed and twisted into a starry face. Empty eye sockets adorned its upper half, and a cloudy beard wrapped itself around the rest of the face. Wispy strands of hair was slicked back across the head, forming into cirrus clouds every half-second.

"Grandfather..." Atlas said, in awe.

The voice continued. "I THANK YOU FOR YOUR LITTLE SERVICE... YOUR MORTAL FRIEND WILL PROVE ESPECIALLY USEFUL... OH, MY LITTLE PAWNS... THE PIECES ARE IN PLACE, AT LAST. EONS OF SUFFERING AND RAGE WILL COME TO FRUITION, AT LONG LAST. I WILL WAKE, ONCE MORE, AND YOU WILL BE POWERLESS TO STOP ME. LEST YOU REACH SEATTLE, YOU WILL PLAY INTO THE HAND THAT I SO DESPERATELY NEED... REMEMBER THIS, PATHETIC FLESHIES... I WILL WAKE, AND YOU WILL BE POWERLESS TO STOP ME! I HAVE WAITED TOO LONG FOR THIS MOMENT, AND YOU WILL NOT GET IN MY WAY!"

With that, the face dissipated from existence, melding back into the twisting and twirling clouds above Atlas.

"W-wha..." began Frank.

"I know, Frank Zhang... If my grandfather has already gained a form of speaking... Then events are accelerating even faster than I originally anticipated... You must all leave, now... The world is in your hands. Go to your friends. Warn them of what is to come. There is no choice- you must spring the trap for them. Go!" ordered Atlas, his voice shaking the mountainside.

"Come on guys! We gotta get back to Festus and run for Seattle!" exclaimed Calypso, grabbing Leo by the hand.

"Wait, wait!" Leo protested, digging his feet into the ground.

"Listen, Atlas..." he began, turning back toward the Titan. "It was nice to meet you and all... And don't worry, I'll take care of your daughter. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that, Leo Valdez. And remember, if the time ever arises... I will assist you in defeating my menace of a grandfather..." retorted the Titan.

"What was that all about?" asked Calypso, with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, um... Nothing. Just a little something we were talking about earlier..." chuckled Leo. "Uh, anyway, shouldn't we get going?!"

With that, Leo bolted for the craggy path leading back down the mountain. Calypso and Frank followed on his heels, panting heavily.

Shooting a quick look back towards Atlas, Leo noticed a twinge of sympathy on his face- almost as if the Titan was holding back something.

Leo decided that he would figure it out later. Right now, he HAD to get to Seattle and save his friends from what was happening. And from Atlas' warnings, it looked like Ouranos was hatching up a plan in Seattle. How did the dude even gain enough awareness in the first place, anyway? Leo suspected that Jason and the others might have been involved with it somehow.

"I leave Eva alone for a few minutes, and she gets kidnapped by a crazy primordial! This is nuts!" exclaimed Frank, breaking the sudden rush of adrenaline.

"I know buddy... I know. We'll find her, and Jason... And everyone... And we'll get out of this alive..." Leo reassured, trying to calm Frank down.

But looking on the horizon, Leo wasn't so sure. Someone was going to get hurt in Seattle, but he had no idea who it was going to be.

* * *

**Interesting, huh? Well, we'll be switching back to New Athens next chapter!**


	37. XXXVII: Percy

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you all! At long last, the star of the show... You get what you all want... PERCY! I think this chapter reflects quite a bit, so I'm interested in seeing what you have to say for this. **

**Reviews:**

**Court: Uhm... You do know my plans for this series, right? You do know that I'm making five books? I'm sure that comment will make you jump up and down just now... Anyway, have fun with this chapter! Hopefully, they'll reach Seattle soon and rescue everyone... We'll see...**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XXXVII: Percy**

**That night, Percy dreamt of Tartarus.**

Horror washed over him as he stood on the edge of the yawning abyss once more- stretching to the throes of oblivion. Percy wasn't one to use fancy words, but the horrors of the pit couldn't compare otherwise.

"You..." he murmured.

_"Me... Indeed... Face my horrors once more, Perseus Jackson... Feed on your fear, each and every day for the rest of your wretched life..."_

"Y-you... S-stop this," panted the son of Poseidon, with his face going pale.

_"HAHAHA!"_ cackled the pit. "_It is my joy to make you SUFFER... No one escapes me... NO ONE..."_

"I-I faced you once. I can do it again..." Percy stuttered, with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

In response, the pit pulled and yanked Percy down on its own gravity. Percy elicited a cry of protest as he was swept into the darkness once more.

Percy couldn't believe that this was happening again. For years, since the end of the Giant War, he and Annabeth were plagued by nightmares of the pit. Recently, it seemed to be getting better-the two of them slowly recovering. But now? Percy wasn't so sure. He knew that he wasn't the same person he was before Tartarus infected his mind- making him aware of the horrors of life.

_"Come down, little hero... Come down!" _Tartarus echoed, his voice ringing through Percy's ears.

Percy felt pain streak through his head as he fell once more. Falling... falling... falling... If falling to Tartarus really took nine days, as Annabeth guessed, it certainly didn't seem like that to Percy. It could have been weeks... hours... months... He couldn't even tell. All he could hear was the echoes of the pit burning in his mind, relieving his worst memories.

Oh, dear_ gods_... Where was Annabeth? Before Percy fell asleep, he swore that she was wrapped up in his arms- back in their villa. Now, this felt too real to Percy. Annabeth wasn't here... And he was falling to Tartarus alone. Despair washed over Percy like a wave from his father's domain. Was this how he was doomed to die? Alone? Thrown to the curb like a crude piece of trash?

All that raced through Percy's mind as he plunged in the endless darkness. The familiar roar rushed through his ears, and the permeating stench of rotting eggs wafted through his nostrils. A familiar red light streaked through Percy's vision, as he realized that the end of the pit drew nearer, nearer, and ever so nearer.

With a cry, Percy recognized the familiar glittering shape of the River Cocytus below, its banks twisting and turning in the jagged landscape. What was worse, however, was the entity of Tartarus himself. All around, Percy recognized the familiar jutted landscape, and thick clouds hung at the top of the abyss.

As he was about to crash into the Cocytus, Percy closed his eyes, preparing for impact. Air whooshed through his lungs, making him choke and burn on the air of Tartarus himself. The dark god whispered evil thoughts into Percy's mind, and he tried with all his might to ward it off.

Annabeth... Percy decided to think about Annabeth. The love of his life wasn't here, which made Percy feel despair. He tried thinking about positive things... New Rome... College... Kissing Annabeth... Architecture... Annabeth... Dang it!

The shriek of mourning souls from the Cocytus radiated through Percy's ears as the river drew nearer and nearer, with throes of fire radiating in the distance of the pit. All around, Tartarus was the epitome of evil itself. Hopelessness and despair was evident in this barren pit, and the wailing cries of monsters burned for miles and miles... If there was actually a concept of _miles_ in Tartarus, Percy didn't know. It would be helpful if there was- he felt like driving a car and wrecking every single one of Tartarus' internal features.

The Cocytus shimmered right below Percy, as he was about to plunge into the river. Darkness consumed him, as he felt himself vanish from the throes of the Cocytus, barely yards below.

The next place that Percy ended up was one that he never wanted to see again- the heart of Tartarus. Waves of intense fear radiated through him, as familiar veins streaked across the landscape- wrapped in the five rivers that flowed through the pit itself. The distant _boom-ba boom_ thumped across the land, making Percy tremble in fear.

_"Oh, little demigod... Do you realize how much I enjoy this little charade? Each and every night, you will suffer a fate worse than death itself... Always knowing that you survived, and your little friends did not..." _hissed the voice of Tartarus.

"Y-you're wrong. Bob and Damasen did this for a purpose... They helped us!" Percy protested, trying to keep his bravado together.

The thump of Tartarus' heart resonated under Percy's feet, and he could see the area where the Doors of Death _used_ to be.

Mirages shimmered into Percy's eyes, as he saw battalions of monsters upon monsters wander the landscape- all crying for vengeance upon him.

_"And that is where you are wrong, little demigod. Your so called friends... they felt my pain, the pain of MYSELF."_

Searing memories rushed through Percy's head- almost as if someone took a searing-hot iron and branded him with a mark. If there was actually a mark, Percy was convinced that it would bear the one of Tartarus himself.

The playback of memories rewinded in Percy's mind, making him bite back sobs of pain. There was Annabeth, wandering the landscape alone.. broken. The daughter of Athena was banged up with scars, and she stumbled around as if she were blind- the curse of the _arai._

The fires of Tartarus filled Percy to the brim, as he was reminded of who cast that curse of blindness- Calypso. If Percy ever woke, he swore that he was going to hunt down that filthy scum of a Titaness and take her down.

Widening his eyes, Percy realized just what he thought. With a grunt, he punched himself, or more accurately, his dream self in the stomach. Gasping, Percy doubled over, and felt his mind clear.

The voice of Tartarus tsk-tsked all around him. _"Small one... How I had hoped that you would succumb to the darkness this time... There is no escape for the hatred that runs through your veins- a hatred that every single living being in existence shares..."_

"W-well... I guess you'll have to do better next time, _Tartarus!_" Percy spat, clutching his fists. "Two years facing you in my dreams... I've learnt to cope- Piper says that it's just all you... Messing with my head..."

_"Oh, little demigod?"_ questioned the pit. _"Perhaps it is you... in which you are denying yourself... Embrace your inner destiny... And face the fate of your pathetic friends- Bob and Damasen..."_

"DO NOT INSULT THEM!" cried Percy, swiveling around the landscape. "THEY DID EVERYTHING FOR US... I OWE THEM MY LIFE!"

A groan rumbled throughout the heart of Tartarus, making Percy stumble to the ground. Around him, the mirage-images of the monsters vanished into the air, each and every one of them wailing cries of misery. Percy felt true terror run through his heart as the form of Tartarus himself shimmered into existence, fifty yards away. The dark form of the god stretched and yawned in the very abyss that he inhabited. Dark talons extended from his hands, and his face morphed and twisted into a craggy crater of absolute desolation, with a black void swirling around his disformed head. Iron-chain buckles wrapped themselves around the god's waist, and sturdy boots adorned his feet.

"I-I.." stammered Percy, feeling himself start to drool.

For Percy, this was torture. The cost of navigating Tartarus several years ago was high. After the Giant War, years ago, the dreams of the dark god radiated strongly whenever Percy slept. Oddly enough, very few of the dreams ever made him actually wake up screaming. In fact, most nights, he slept like a rock- even when a strong dream like this was happening. But that was only when Annabeth was sleeping at his side. If Annabeth wasn't there... Percy was sure that he would wake up every living being within a quarter-mile radius with his screaming.

_"But even as you wandered out of my eternal abyss in despair... The lives of your friends were taken... BY ME. Those sorry excuses for immortals actually DARED to put up a resistance against my might!" _boomed Tartarus.

The dark god stomped his feet, and slammed one of his gnarly fists around the armor of souls that always adorned his chest.

Percy could feel himself getting sick as the faces of Bob and Damasen appeared in Tartarus' armor- the both of them struggling and wailing in eternal pain.

"Percy.. You go now, friend..." moaned Bob, his face contorting and whimpering in confusion.

Damasen's face was stoic and silent, almost as if he were one of those stone-faced dudes at the recent _Save the Sea Otters! _rally that Percy attended.

Even while mustering all his will, Percy still found it difficult to attempt standing up to the likes of Tartarus himself. Heck, he couldn't even do it the first time! And his friends, Bob and Damasen... made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, they were nothing more than additional souls in Tartarus' armor. And that had to make Percy feel angry and helpless.

_"You see, little demigod? Your friends fell under my might- protecting you and that insipid daughter of Athena..."_ hissed the dark god. _"When you entered my domain, you received the curse of ME... The curse of knowing that whatever you do... Nothing is more horrible than the wrath of ME!"_

"Tartarus... For years..." began Percy, struggling up to his feet. "I've suffered under your will... And I've done everything possible... To... Keep... You... UNDER CONTROL! You do not own me... I will fight against your will every time... You know why? Because I have hope... Hope that something will always be better than the rotting pit! You're nothing more than a ghost of my past... Oh, and by the way, you're annoying."

Percy noticed that the god looked surprised by his sudden outburst.

_"A valiant attempt, small one... But I assure you, even you, the mightiest of heroes, will fall-,_"

The god was interrupted by a sudden shaking of the landscape.

_"What is thissss?" _murmured Tartarus.

For once, Percy realized that the dark god looked agitated and nervous. What the heck? Percy was no rocket scientist, but he was pretty sure that the epitome.. of... well... evil itself, shouldn't tremble over a minor earthquake-thingie.

_"WHO DARES? WHO DARES INTERRUPT THIS DREAM?"_ bellowed the dark god, making Percy clutch his ears.

_"Me..."_ breathed a new voice, making Tartarus take a step back from his own heart.

If Percy could meet the voice whoever did that, he mentally promised himself to give the voice-thing an award for best-scaring-of-a-totally-evil-god.

Another tremor rippled across the pit, making Percy land on his butt with an _oomph!_ Nearby, Tartarus seemed to search all around the pit for something... Something that the dark god couldn't identify.

_"The son of Poseidon..." _hissed the voice.

If evil gods could go pale, Percy swore that Tartarus did that just now. The air surrounding the pit shimmered, and the dark clouds momentarily lifted. In its place, pale-blue and white cirrus clouds streaked across the ceiling of Tartarus.

_"No..." _Tartarus said. "_It cannot be..."_

_"Lo and behold... It very much is... And I assure you that, dear brother..."_ crooned the voice, as the clouds above the dark god morphed and twisted into a starry face.

_"YOU!" _howled the dark god, shaking a fist towards the ceiling.

Percy noticed the figures of Bob and Damasen dissolve back into the throes of Tartarus' armor. With that, it gave him a newfound determination to save his friends. Ever since the Giant War ended, Percy swore to bring his friends back from Tartarus' grip. Obviously, Annabeth knew about this as well, since... well... you know. Interestingly enough, Piper also knew about this, since she was Percy's guidance counselor. Yes, Percy knew that he and Annabeth were having problems from the dreams, so Piper seemed like the safest bet to confide in.

_"Indeed, brother... How goes the day?"_ inquired the cloud-face dude, jarring Percy out of his thoughts.

_"NO. YOU ARE DEAD... KRONOS RIPPED YOU APART WITH HIS SCYTHE ALL THESE EONS AGO... THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY..." _Tartarus protested.

_"And what could I say? Perhaps I am harder to get rid of than you originally thought..."_ smiled the cloud-face dude.

Two weirdos having a literal face-off? This entertained Percy. If he wasn't in a dream-state in Tartarus, Percy wanted to go to the nearest candy store and grab some popcorn and a Hershey bar. Being in a dream made Percy hungry, even though he wasn't normally one to tell other people that.

_"Y-YOU... STAY OUT OF THIS. MY QUARREL IS WITH PERSEUS JACKSON. YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE, BROTHER..._" continued the dark god.

In response, the smug cloud guy let loose a barreling peal of laughter. _"Precisely why I am here... In my newfound senses, I have come to gaze upon the son of Poseidon... I am investigating the legends of which you call the Seven..."_

Percy could feel a moment of sweat-dropping as both gods turned their heads to stare at him. Well, he assumed that the cloud dude was a god too. After all, Tartarus called him _my brother. _

The wacky world of immortals made no sense to Percy. He was really glad that he wasn't a primordial or anything... That would mean Tartarus would be his brother... Percy mentally shuddered at that horrible thought. If there were any other primordials out there, he really felt bad for the ones who were related to Tartarus. The sky dude spoke again, jarring Percy out of his thoughts.

_"He does not seem like much..."_ mused the cloud dude.

_"Ouranos, do not underestimate this demigod... Singlehandedly, he escaped even the likes of ME..." _growled Tartarus.

Ouranos?! Percy was taken aback at that mention. So that cloud guy was Ouranos?! Percy was pretty sure that even though he didn't know all his facts, Ouranos was supposedly defeated several eons ago by the Titans. Tartarus' comment about the whole cutting-up part only confirmed Percy's suspicions.

_"Perhaps... My wife, Gaea... If she had not blundered in her awakening, this would have not occured in the first place..."_ Ouranos grumbled.

"_What...? You mean your EX-wife?" _Tartarus retorted. _"Supposedly, you did not get the memo that Gaea left YOU... For me?"_

_"YOU SHUT UP!" _roared Ouranos. "_Gaea and I had our fair share of problems... But I will not accept the fact that she left me! I am her husband- first and foremost!"_

Whoa, talk about a bunch of estranged dudes fighting over a lady... But Percy's immediate problem was Ouranos. What the heck was the guy doing here, interrupting his dream with Tartarus? And how could Ouranos even muster a form of communication after being shredded apart for eons? If something like this was happening, Percy prayed that Kronos wouldn't return or anything. The last thing he needed was another crazy Titan who wanted to take over the world and enslave everyone in chains and stuff.

"_SILENCE_!" shot back Tartarus. _"Brother, the both of us have our fair share of grievances. As for how you are regaining consciousness... we will discuss later. I still hate you for the way you have mistreated Gaea... But I beckon you this- we both mourn over her death. And, you know... I suppose... This little demigod here... Was involved with that..."_

Percy could feel the hairs on the back of his neck shoot up as Ouranos glared at him, with a look of hatred evident on his face.

_"Is this true... Perseus Jackson...? You contributed to the downfall of my wife?"_

_"EX!" _hissed Tartarus.

Ouranos shot Tartarus a look, and gazed back at Percy.

"Um... Well... My friends and I were just walking around and stuff.. And... um... your wife was kind of annoying us a little bit... So we decided to kind of put her back to sleep... And by sleep, I mean sort of blowing her up and stuff..." Percy nervously chuckled.

Both Ouranos and Tartarus looked at each other, which made Percy nervous.

_"Truce?"_ asked both of the gods.

"_Truce..." _they murmured.

Percy felt like running for his life when both gods turned back on him with really angry looks on their faces.

_"KILL HIM!" _they both howled, as the terrain of the pit opened up below Percy.

Percy could barely let out a cry of surprise as he fell downwards in a void of pitch-black matter. Above him, the faces of Tartarus and Ouranos cackled in glee, watching on with pleasure.

"_Until we meet again, little demigod..._" crooned Tartarus.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"AHGH!" gasped Percy, shooting back into the realm of reality, and realized that he was back in his bed.

"Percy!" exclaimed Annabeth, who shot up from Percy's arms. "Are you okay?"

The daughter of Athena looked like she had awaken from a dream of her own. Looking down, Percy realized that his hands were visibly shaking, and his skin felt damp to the touch. Annabeth wasn't much better off either. She shifted around in the bed's blanket, and turned her gray eyes to gaze at Percy.

"Oh.. 'Beth.. I just had the most vivid dream of Tartarus yet... I-I can't do this..." Percy panted.

Looking around the room, Percy realized that he was safe and sound back in the villa. A pale contrast of blue and gray surrounded the room he and Annabeth were sleeping in, and the ceiling had streaks of sunlight stars glowing across it. The nearby window gleamed in the moonlight, and the stars were shining in the distant night sky. Normal? Check. As normal as it gets for demigods? Super-check.

"Percy... I-I know. There isn't much we can do about those dreams..." sighed Annabeth, doing her best to comfort as well as a daughter of Athena could.

"No.. That's not all, 'Beth. I know what I saw... Another god appeared in my dream..."

"Who?" Annabeth asked, with widening eyes. "That's unusual if you're dreaming about Tartarus."

"I-I don't know the full details... But the guy's name was Ouranos or something..."

With that, Annabeth rolled off the bed, and jerked the blanket off. Her eyes had this wild look, and the daughter of Athena looked jittery.

"Percy... That's no coincidence then. I dreamed about that person too... We need a council meeting... now..."

"Aw... But... Can we sleep for a couple more hours?! It's... three in the morning!" Percy exclaimed, looking at the clock on the nearby nightstand.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, which made her more beautiful in Percy's mind. Her feet were snuggled up in gray stockings, and a ratty old t-shirt and short-shorts composed her pajama selection.

"Seaweed Brain... The quicker we do this... The better we'll sleep later..." sighed the daughter of Athena. "And while you're getting dressed, I better wake Reyna up from the other room. I still can't believe she slept through all of this..."

With that comment, Percy's mind drifted back to Reyna. The recent match of Capture the Flag had left her exhausted and injured, but nothing the Apollo campers could fix up! Percy had to admit that his prestige at Capture the Flag had been wounded when Nico tackled him into the creek, while foolishly attempting to engage in a swordfight. Reyna had taken advantage of the opportunity and made it across the creek with the flag.

After that whole debacle, Nico told Percy where Annabeth got knocked unconscious, so he hurried to find her. Sadly, the only thing he got when reaching Silena's Grove was a whole lot of swearing and foot-stomping from the daughter of Athena.

Annabeth streaked out of the room, jarring Percy out of his thoughts. The fact that Reyna was bunking in their villa made Percy a little uncomfortable, but he was pretty okay with it. After all, if Reyna didn't wake up from screaming, then that was alright by him. Well, that, and the heavy dose of medication that the Apollo campers gave her for the minor internal injuries that the ambrosia and nectar didn't get.

Yup... A meeting in the middle of the night? Just great! Percy knew that this was so totally going to be cheerful.

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**Yeah... Quite interesting, isn't it? We'll see a little bit more next chapter!**


	38. XXXVIII: Percy

***Chapter 39: Up by May 6, 2015, 10:00 PM EST***

**Hey guys! After taking a restful weekend to recharge my batteries, here's another chapter for you! In this one- pay CLOSE attention to every detail. More so in the last half of the chapter.**

**Reviews:**

**Pacenyaa347: XD. Well, I'm not sure if that's good or not... But I'm going to go with good. I took a little time from writing the next chapter, to give you all a chance to breathe. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story! Remember, there are four books after this one, so stay tuned!**

**Lovedystopia: It's no problem... And you just made me wait in antipication... It's like waiting for Christmas- one big gift that's so far, far away... Eh, I'll manage. I'm glad my chapters are removing your stress!**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Yeah... The Tartarus dreams are so-so. It's explained a little bit more this chapter. Percy's dreams come and go. It's not like it'll make him scream every night. I just believe that his whole Tartarus experience didn't scar him so horribly that he's psychiatric. **

**Court0624: Indeed, everyone loves Percy! Who doesnt? As for the whole Reyna idea... It will be explained next chapter- after the war council. I have this whole sunrise scene planned... It's going to be interesting. But yeah, I'm doing all these books... It's going to be great! See you later!**

**Great Faith: There aren't any grammar mistakes in the chapters so far... If you're referring to word grammar, then no. I spell-check frequently, so there should be little to no mistakes at all. As for sentence structure and paragraph splicing, the first twelve chapters are trash. I'm slowly fixing them, however. If you look back, chapters 1-5 are fixed already, and more will be fixed in my spare time. Also, Uncle Rick DOES bold his first line as well... See you later! **

**So, without further ado...**

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**XXXVIII: Percy**

**Percy thought that starting a meeting with an angry Reyna was a bad idea.**

"You couldn't have waited until the morning?!" roared the praetor, slamming her right fist onto the table.

Since Reyna was kind of ticked off, Percy decided not to tell her about the mess that was her hair. Seriously, Reyna looked like someone who just escaped a warzone. Her hair was a rat's nest, and the shredded tank top she was wearing was NOT helping her image much.

"Reyna's riggghhhttt. I just wannnaaa sleeeppp..." moaned Clovis, from the Hypnos cabin. The child of Hypnos lolled back and forth- seeming like whether he couldn't decide to pass out right then or not.

Even though it was late at night, not even Annabeth was crazy enough to hold a meeting in the middle of the _agora._ Rather, the daughter of Athena made Percy gather up all the cabin heads of Camp Half-Blood and important leaders of New Athens, and made them all meet up in the Big House.

Admittedly enough, when Annabeth made him round up the cabin leaders, Percy saw some pretty weird stuff. One of them included Travis and Katie kissing in the back of the Hermes cabin, and Butch dancing to the tune of _Rainbow Overture_ in his bunk. Percy wasn't worried about Butch, but he was worried about Travis and Katie. Since when did they start liking each other?

With all that crazy stuff aside, Percy's problem was finding Rachel. Well, it wasn't really much of a problem. Rachel was obviously in her cave, which half of the population of New Athens dubbed as the 'swag' cave.

After uttering the third great prophecy, Rachel seemed shaken up, and Percy knew why. After two years of being gift-less with prophecy, it all came rushing back to Rachel that fateful night last week. Nothing else came through her, which confused Percy. It was almost as if Python temporarily unblocked the power of prophecy, then blocked it again. It reminded Percy of one of those nightclub bouncers, going all gun-ho on poor people.

One of the gathered leaders piped up, jarring Percy out of his thoughts.

"I was having a very pleasant dream, if you didn't have to poke me like a demon!" huffed Jane, daughter of Eros, crossing her arms.

"Sorry! But if you ask me, I would rather do that than face Annabeth's wrath!" Percy protested.

The head of Cabin Twenty-Nine looked terrible, which was saying a lot, since Eros was the god of love. Percy mentally shuddered. He didn't want to ask how many kids the god of love had.

With that, all the cabin heads began shouting cries and protests of mutiny or something, which was NOT music to Percy's ears.

"Quiet, quiet. That's quite enough!" jutted in Chiron, thumping one of his hooves.

Percy was elated to see his old mentor at the meeting. After being kidnapped by Hera two and a half years ago, and rushing to save the world on another doomsday quest, he didn't have the time to even contact any of his old friends and family, including Chiron.

The centaur was in his horse form, as he often was these days. After all, you needed your legs when the population of Long Island jumped by a couple hundred percent the last few years... Percy was pretty sure that Chiron grew some new gray hairs after the constant screaming of over fifty cabin leaders in his head. It wasn't stopping either, with more and more cabins being constructed as the weeks went by. Even more disturbing was the introduction of some sort of river god who called himself _Noodles... _

"If you want us to shut up, I suggest you get to the point!" growled Clarisse, as the sea of cabin leaders began to quiet down, jarring Percy out of his thoughts. "In case you hadn't noticed, I was rigging new landmines... Even ones that the Stolls couldn't take!"

Percy decided not to ask about the landmines. After all, Clarisse was a "special" person. If special meant being a war-crazy woman who stabbed everything in sight, then Clarisse certainly fit the bill.

"Guys, I think we should totally be rational and stuff... And listen to what Annabeth has to say..." suggested Travis, slowly rising up from the fold-down chair he was sitting on. "And I'm sure she has something really important to do or something..."

"Two things, Stoll. One, thank you. Two, you're up to something, and I'll kill you when I find out..." shrugged Annabeth.

Travis chuckled nervously, and sat back down in his chair. Percy had to agree with Annabeth- Travis was up to something if he actually was being "nice" for once. He was pretty sure that "nice" and "Stolls" didn't mix, unless it involved a grape-powder bomb.

"Somehow, that makes me feel good about you throwing up during Capture the Flag..." mused Reyna, running one of her hands through her unruly hair.

The praetor then proceeded to silently fistbump Katie Gardener, who was sitting several chairs away.

"Katie-Kat... You too?!" gasped Travis, putting a hand over his heart.

"Zeus help me... We need a better meeting system..." sighed Chiron, rubbing his forehead.

Percy had to agree. With over fifty cabin heads, plus the leaders of New Athens, personal meetings tended to get chaotic. By chaotic, Percy was pretty sure that flying projectiles and hot pizzas counted. Unless the hot pizzas burnt you in the face, it was fair game.

"Everyone, shut it. I'm not in the mood, unless you want to DIE!" Annabeth threatened, slamming a knife onto the table.

Percy could have sworn that he saw a cabin head stumble to the back of a wall. Well, so much for the Big House expansion to accommodate those much-larger meetings...

The atmosphere quieted down once more, as about seventy heads in the room turned to Annabeth, including Percy. Well, Percy knew that he was right up in her face, but that didn't matter.

"Guys... Percy and I had another dream... So we gathered everyone here today to talk about this." Annabeth explained.

"Oh, come on! I would rather kiss Nico or something, rather than dealing with this therapy again! " Reyna shouted, slamming a fist on the table.

"I OBJECT!" shouted Will Solace, head leader of the Apollo cabin.

"SIT DOWN!"screamed everyone in the room, as Nico forced a red-faced Will Solace back into his chair.

"I mean... Not that your dreams are bad or anything... It's just... If you were dreaming about that _place,_ then why would you call everyone here to talk about it?" continued Reyna.

"I think Percy could answer that question better..." Annabeth said, turning to glare at Percy.

Percy could feel all the attention weigh down on him as everyone in the room turned to stare at him like one of those _Chucky_ dolls from that horror show.

"Um. Well, I guess most of you know about the problem that Annabeth and I have been having as of late..." began Percy.

Immediately, everyone gave him sympathetic looks. Percy appreciated the sentiment, but he didn't want a pity party over the whole Tartarus problem. Sure, sometimes paranoia came out, but it really wasn't all that bad. Percy felt like he could compare the images of Tartarus to hormones. Some days, it could make him pass out. For the other ninety-percent of the time, he could deal with it.

"Yes... so continue? Stay with us Perce. You're tuning out here!" Rachel snapped, sitting adjacent to Percy. "If I had a nickel for every time you did that, I would be a billionaire by now!"

The crowd chuckled, and Percy felt himself blush in embarrassment. Next to him, he could hear Annabeth elicit an exasperated sigh. Percy shrugged it off, and continued with the story.

"It started out as normally as it ever does..." sighed Percy. "Falling, falling... Weird talks, et cereta. After all that, the oddest thing happened."

"Something odd with Tartarus? I doubt that." Nico snorted, leaning back in his chair.

"If you mean the fact that the god actually looked SCARED for once, then I guess it counts as odd..." Percy mused, shooting down Nico's comment.

The son of Hades groaned. "Percy, Tartarus is FEAR itself. You and I know well enough... We were both there!"

"What if I told you ANOTHER god appeared in my dreams- and it shook Tartarus?"

The son of Hades narrowed his eyes. "Tell me more."

"There I was, walking on the heart of Tartarus itself... The rivers swirling all around me... The dark god speaking in my mind..." Percy said slowly. "I don't know how, but another god just waltzed in there and hijacked Tartarus' dream state over me."

Nico leaned forward. "If you're suggesting a poltergeist, then I'm all ears."

"No... Tartarus said _my brother..._" Percy retorted. "He even went through that whole '_Luke, I am your father'_ thing."

"_My brother?_ Isn't that a line from some sort of weirdo show?" inquired Izzy, head of the Tyche cabin.

"Tartarus' brother? Percy, if I'm thinking what you're thinking... Then that's impossible!" Nico continued.

Percy continued. "There isn't anything else, Nico. Tartarus called the other dude _Ouranos_, whether you like it or not!"

With that, the entire room erupted into an uproar. Several demigods protested, trying to bear with the reality of the situation.

"That's a load of centaur poop, Jackson! Everyone who has half a brain knows that he got chopped up thousands of years ago!" bellowed Clarisse, over the roar of the crowd.

"He totally said Ouranos! I swear it!" Percy exclaimed, slamming a fist onto the table.

The surrounding members of the meeting slightly jumped, seemingly jarred by the son of Poseidon's sudden outburst. With that, Percy knew that he was feeling a little off. With Tartarus and Ouranos' dream hijacking, and the whole gods-back-to-Olympus scenario, there was a lot of stuff going on.

Percy couldn't help but feel sad. Ever since Zeus ordered the gods back to Olympus, New Athens sort of seemed a little _empty. _And Percy felt like he wasn't saying that just because his dad left. Okay, maybe that was eighty-percent of the reason, but still. Going fishing with his dad made Percy happy, and eating cookies on a binge was awesome too! Percy felt like it almost made up for his dad missing ninety-nine percent of his life.

"Percy, Percy... I feel ya, you know? But ever since I spouted the next great prophecy randomly and stuff... It's been quiet here, besides the doomsday quest that Jason and everyone else went off to..." sighed Rachel, as the crowd settled down.

All of a sudden, Rachel froze. The mortal looked like she had been zapped mid-air by a freeze ray.

"The heck?!" exclaimed one of the other cabin leaders, who Percy identified as Logan, son of Eos, goddess of the dawn. The head of Cabin Forty-Nine looked freaked out by Rachel's sudden Han Solo carbonation.

Rachel whipped her head down, and when she raised it again, her eyes were glowing like the Mist itself. The first twenty people surrounding Rachel all rushed away in a mad scramble, desperately trying to get away from her. It was times like this where Percy wondered if those people ever saw a creepy oracle speaking in a possessed voice before.

_"We must be saved..." _hissed the harmony of three voices at the same time. _"Even now, he stirs. They stir. They come for us all. The lives of many are at stake... WE are threatened- they are threatened!"_

"R-Rachel? Are you okay?" stammered Annabeth, edging toward the oracle.

_"We apologize for this hijacking, but it was necessary..._" continued the voices. _"Necessary as it may be, however. Your friends must be warned. If they attempt our rescue, they will be bested by an enemy who lies in wait... The king of the risen..."_

"Wait a minute... You're the Fates?" Annabeth asked, realizing just who they were.

Well, Percy assumed that Annabeth figured it out. She wasn't Athena's pride and joy for no reason.

_"Indeed, child of Athena. We come with a warning- a warning beyond our times. At best, the very last ounces of our remaining resistance is being sent through the body of this mortal."_

Percy couldn't help but feel bad for Rachel. After all, being hijacked at random by crazy gods and immortals who needed help was... um... _interesting._

"What is with all these voices? Don't you have individuality?!" Nico exclaimed, clutching his forehead.

_"I am Clotho, she who spins the thread of life!" _hissed one voice, rising above the cacophony of the others.

_"I am Lachesis, she who measures the throes of life!" _moaned a second voice.

_"And I am Atropos, she who cuts the thread of life!" _said a third voice.

_"And together, we are the Fates!"_ hissed all three of the voices, in perfect unison.

All of a sudden, Rachel elicited an ear-shattering scream, which made Percy and everyone else in the room clutch their ears in agony. Percy was pretty sure that only an Exploud from Pokemon Emerald Version could scream as loud as Rachel was doing right now.

"Rachel!" exclaimed several cabin leaders, getting over their shock.

What happened next nearly made Percy wet his pants. Rachel shot up from the chair she was sitting on, and leaped for Percy. He felt himself lose a marble as Rachel clutched the neck of his t-shirt, and hissed in the voice of the Fates.

_"This must be stopped... No... The ceremony is nearly complete! He will get what he wants... And they will get what they want!"_

"Who? Ouranos?" Annabeth questioned. "He can't be waking up, can he?"

As Annabeth questioned the possessed oracle, Percy felt a surge of reassurance course through him as the daughter of Athena squeezed his hand.

_"Don't be a fool, child. It will still take him some time to even muster the strength. No, he has a better idea in mind. Beware. Remember two years ago. Father Sky cannot rise alone. He needs children- the children in which we are being forced to create. Stronger, better, faster... The ultimate threat. Everything is being sacrificed in order to create his necessities."_

"That sounds kind of cheerful and stuff... But could you let go of my shirt?" Percy asked, trying to lighten the situation.

Rachel's grip slackened, and a confused look crossed her face. "_Oh, our apologies, Percy Jackson. We were just merely trying to get our point across for emphasis. It was mentioned in a magazine once."_

Reyna laughed weakly. "Have you been reading my magazine? I swear it was in there..."

_"The praetor of Rome..."_ hissed the voices of the Fates, as Rachel turned to gaze at Reyna.

_"Aphrodite was correct in her assumption, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. Our goal for you is vastly different. You are to be the one to bridge the relationship between demigods and mortals. The tide is coming, and it will change."_

"W-what do you mean?" Reyna asked, turning pale.

For once, Percy was glad that the attention of the Fates weren't directed at him. He was pretty sure that the old ladies were dedicated to making his like miserable. But the Fates sounded miserable, through the tone of their voice. The whole scene reminded Percy of the time that Jason explained how Hera took control of Seymour's head in a similar way.

_"Gweha..." _hissed the voices, coursing through Rachel. _"We can speak no more. We have been found out. Our audience is over, little ones. Remember this- no demigod is safe if Ouranos' plan works. The entire world is at stake. Demigods, monsters, mortals, legacies, gods... We, the Fates, will die, unless your friends can rescue us."_

As soon as those words were uttered out of Rachel's mouth, she went limp, and toppled toward Percy's direction. Percy released Annabeth's hand, and rushed to catch Rachel. He dove for the ground as the mortal tottered to the floor.

Once Percy caught Rachel, he was shocked on how cold she felt. The oracle shivered under his touch, whispering and contorting random words that he couldn't make out.

"Aw, Rachel!" exclaimed Annabeth, as she rushed to Percy's side.

Both Nico and Reyna edged closer, as Percy laid Rachel onto the floor. The cacophony of the cabin leaders radiated through Percy's ears, as he focused on whether the oracle was breathing or not. Putting his fingers on Rachel's neck vein, Percy released a sigh of relief as he realized that she was still breathing.

"What the heck?!" screamed a female cabin leader, pointing to Rachel.

Percy had no idea what she was talking about, until he looked at Rachel's eyes. The oracle's Mist-white eyes had transformed into a shade of sky-blue, and white foam was bubbling at her mouth.

"Oh my gods..." muttered Annabeth, clasping her mouth with her hands.

Rachel arched her back, and gripped both of her hands onto Percy's right arm. With surprise, he tried prying off Rachel's hands, but they were holding on like a death grip from Darth Vader himself. An ancient voice echoed throughout the room, radiating through Percy's ears.

_"P-Percy Jackson..." _stuttered the new voice emanating from Rachel.

Right then, Percy knew that if he had a dollar for every time a creepy voice tried to talk to him, he would be the richest man on the planet.

_"H-how naughty the F-f-f-f-ates have been... T-talking to you all... Y-y-y-y-you w-w-will fall..."_ stuttered the voice, seeming like a broken tape was being rewinded over and over again.

With that, Rachel collapsed into Percy's arms, and her blue eyes turned back into their normal shade of green. The entire crowd was stunned into silence from the creepy poltergeist imitation that just took place.

The shocked silence in the room was interrupted by Nico's voice.

"What the heck just happened?" gaped a surprised son of Hades.

* * *

**Interesting, isn't it? Well, let's see what happens next chapter!**


	39. XXXIX: Percy

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter up for you! Have fun, and enjoy! About to hit the 40th chapter! Woohoo!**

**Reviews:**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Here's a hint: what color is the sky? And heck yeah... Who wants to be woken up before the dawn is rising? I swear to you, I'll run someone through if that ever happens... Unless I'm being woken up to fly in an airplane, of course... Ugh, how I love aircraft. I'm flying back to the UK on a vacation this summer, so it should be sweet! You should like this chapter!**

**jorman08: Thanks! I'm glad that you're enjoying this story! I think you'll like this chapter very much... Again, thanks for your interest in this story!**

**Court0624: Percy is 'swaggy', isn't he? Yeah, as the Fates mentioned, they have 0 power now, and they've been found out... So we'll see what happens soon! I think you'll like this chapter!**

**Guest: Thank you SO much! Those words of yours were very, very kind... I'm sure that there are better writers out there, but that means a lot! I do think that in terms of grammar and originality and dedication, I do rank as one of the better writers in the PJO fanfiction... Like, top 20%. And I'm not trying to brag, thanks to some of the horrible cliches and grammar out there. But don't get me wrong! There are lots of amazing other stories out there in the PJO fandom! Just my opinion on the matter. As for updates, I'm trying my best! It is possible for me to write a 3,000-4,000 word chapter each night, if my mind is active. But I have a life too, you know? Some days, I need a break to enjoy everything else, and gain new ideas. I do try to update often, and I will assure you- I update quicker than some writers here. Thanks again for your smashing review! It made my day! (Again, no bragging, just making a generalization based on my observations).**

**So, without further ado... Enjoy!**

* * *

**XXXIX: Percy**

**In hindsight, looking directly at the sun wasn't Percy's best idea.**

"OWWW! It burns!" he moaned, clutching his eyeballs.

Next to Percy, Reyna rolled her eyes. "Annabeth, sometimes, I honestly don't know why you want to marry this guy."

The daughter of Athena shrugged. "When you've been with a guy since you were twelve, stuff happens."

"Hey! I thought it was the definition of our everlasting love!" Percy moaned, rubbing the light out of his eyeballs.

"Maybe Perce here has a point. Who knows? Maybe this is the sixty-fourth life you two have spent mooching each other's faces off..." Reyna shrugged, inspecting her fingernails.

"As if. That's kind of impossible." Annabeth said, massaging Percy's arm.

As the sun rose on the horizon, Percy felt his muscles loosening up from Annabeth's massage. Sitting on the porch of the Big House was pretty sweet, and it only got sweeter for Percy once Chiron brought in some doughnuts for an early-morning breakfast.

It had only been three hours since that whole Rachel-got-knocked-unconscious meeting, and the entire Greek community was panicking. The oracle had been rushed to the infirmary, where she was currently being treated by several children of Apollo.

Even as this all happened, Percy had to sigh. Didn't all these new campers know how to act in a crisis? Then again, Percy had to admit that regaining Zeus' master bolt, navigating the Sea of Monsters, saving Artemis, holding up the sky, traversing the Labyrinth, fighting in the Battle of the Labyrinth, bathing in the Styx, defeating the Titans Hyperion and Kronos, fighting in the Battle of Manhattan, becoming temporary praetor of Rome, freeing Thanatos, slaying Polybotes, journeying through Tartarus, closing the Doors of Death, sailing on the Argo II, and facing down Mother Earth, Gaea, gave him some nerves of steel to play around with. Percy was pretty sure that he forgot a few things, but still.

"Yoohoo? Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth chimed, jarring Percy out of his thoughts.

"You see, Annabeth? I honestly don't know why you're going through with this." Reyna smiled, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, yeah... Whatever." mused the daughter of Athena. "Anyway, Percy, didn't you hear what I was asking you about?"

"Sorry, what?" Percy replied, feeling fazed.

Both women exchanged exasperated looks.

At that moment, Percy knew that he would never understand women. The way they shopped was complicated. The way they gossiped was complicated. The way they made a big deal about everything was complicated. The way they-, um... never mind.

"I was just asking you about what shade of carnations you wanted for the reception..." sighed Annabeth.

"Um... Blue?" Percy responded. "You know I won't get married without a shade of blue!"

"I figured that. So, I went ahead and ordered two-hundred twenty gray carnations for the flower placement." Annabeth responded, to Percy's horror.

"Annabeth! How could you betray me like that?!" Percy gasped, leaping up from the rocking chair he was sitting on. "BLUE IS LOVE! BLUE IS LIFE!"

"Relax, I'm teasing. It's half blue, half gray." snorted the daughter of Athena. "And you're going to get those tense muscles again if you don't let me finish kneading out those knots that Rachel smacked into you!"

"Fine... Mother..." Percy groaned, settling back into his rocking chair. He elicited a hiss of pain as Annabeth began kneading the sore arm again. For a mortal, Percy had to admit that Rachel's grip as an oracle was crazy-strong.

"So, Reyna. Are you getting any more sleep? It's still kind of early, you know?" Annabeth suggested to the silent praetor.

"Nah. You guys know what today is, anyway."

Percy felt his mood turn dark. Of _course_ Reyna couldn't sleep today. It was now dawn on August 1, the two-year anniversary of the fall of Gaea. If Percy's memory served correctly, he remembered Reyna mentioning that she defeated Orion just across Long Island Sound around this exact time, give or take. Not to mention, it was the day that Percy thought Leo died. Sure, he came back to life and teleported into the middle of New Athens with his dad, but still.

Annabeth released a chuckle. "It's hard to believe all that crazy stuff happened, doesn't it? It seems like yesterday that we were sixteen, facing the wrath of the world itself. Now, here we are, and everyone's going off on their own thing. That, and another great prophecy is coming up again."

"Yeah, I suppose so..." mused the praetor, releasing a long sigh.

It was times like this that Percy wondered whether he was interrupting something. His thought process was interrupted by Annabeth's reassurance.

"Aw, Rey. You're thinking about what the Fates said, aren't you?" questioned Athena's daughter.

"Well, when people who make your destiny tell you that your love life is going to suck, then yeah, I'm going to be moody!" snapped the praetor.

"Reyna," Percy began, "at first, you have no idea how horrible my love life was, trust me!"

"Sure, if a red-haired girl and an immortal Titaness fawning over you was anything to talk about..." Annabeth retorted, as Percy felt an extra-strong knot of pain unwind from one of his upper muscles.

"If that's supposed to make me feel better, it didn't..." Reyna said, crossing her arms and strolling across the entire length of the Big House porch.

"It's not all hopeless, Reyna. The Fates said something about you bridging the gap between mortals and demigods, whatever that means..." Annabeth mused, trying to make Reyna feel better.

Percy had to admit that it seemed reassuring. Well, for a boyfriend-less praetor, that was. Still, it made Percy kind of angry that Reyna was destined to be alone among demigods. After sacrificing everything to return the Athena Parthenos, Percy felt that Reyna kind of deserved something as compensation. Maybe not drachmas or gold, but a date or something would be nice for her. Percy didn't think Reyna was going to attempt anything, as evidenced by her extreme dislike of mortals from her description of school.

"If that was the Fates' attempt to console me about the torture of _school,_ then I guess the whole point of me bridging that demigod-mortal gap was useless then..." Reyna huffed, sitting down on a nearby wicker chair.

"I wouldn't get too worked up about it, Reyna." Percy shrugged. "Besides, I know what it's like when immortals spout out random stuff that you won't understand until it's literally hitting you in the face. Or, if you're referring to school, it wasn't so bad for me. Just avoid the jocks, wannabes, and sluts, then you'll be perfectly fine!"

"UGH, you have no idea how annoying one guy is! His name is Mike or something, if I recall right..." Reyna growled.

As far as Percy was aware, Reyna was still plowing through high school, at her own insistence. Apparently, the praetor refused to let a few ego-driven mortals beat her into submission, which was shown through her bad mood. Reyna also seemed to want to investigate the whole Mist-fiasco thing, and the results were alarming. Alone, the praetor reported that yesterday, at least a half-dozen mortals during her lunch period could see the knife she was carrying, as evidenced on their faces.

"When Percy and I were back at school last year, there was this guy named Owen or something... I ended up breaking his wrist two days later. It wasn't too hard to cover up with the Mist, now that I think about it..." mused Annabeth, trying to alleviate Reyna out of her mortal problems.

"I remember that guy... Yeah, he couldn't take a hint, couldn't he?" Percy said, remembering all about Owen's annoying habits.

Admittedly enough, when he went back to Goode last year with Annabeth, Percy didn't know what to expect. After the whole Giant War thing, and catching up with everyone back at home, going back to school two years ago wasn't the best idea. Instead, Percy felt like he came up with an amazing solution: taking the year off. Surprisingly, Annabeth didn't have a problem with it, but it scared Percy when she made him promise on the River Styx that they would be attending classes the year after that. Or, as he liked to call it, _Dancing in Hades._

"Gee, Annabeth. That makes me all better!" the praetor said sarcastically.

"Say what you will, Reyna. You'll learn something out of school, so just smile and bear it!" Annabeth replied, as Percy felt himself groan in pain again. Seriously, how strong was Rachel's grip?!

"What's wrong, Pwercy-wercy. Are you... feeling pain?" Reyna gasped, as Percy shot her his dark look.

"Maybe Reyna is right... Are you supposed to be feeling THIS?" Annabeth grinned, as Percy groaned in another bout of pain.

"Seriously, though. I didn't know your oracle could have that kind of crazy strength... What gives?" the praetor questioned.

"When she gets possessed by a random spirit, those kind of strength bouts are bound to happen..." Percy muttered, as he wriggled himself out of Annabeth's grip.

"Fine, have it your way! If you want to wake up sore, that's your problem!" huffed the daughter of Athena.

Percy noticed that Reyna was staring in the distance, seemingly ignoring the quip that he and Annabeth were having. The sun was now steadily rising over the hills, illuminating the entirety of Camp Half-Blood and the outskirts of New Athens in the distance, in all its glory. Percy felt silence descend over himself, Annabeth, and Reyna, as the three of them watched the fiery-tipped glows of the dawn streak across the sky.

As the sky lit up into its familiar hue, Percy's mind reflected back to the kids of Cabin Forty-Nine. No doubt they wouldn't be still sleeping anyway, since their mother was Eos, goddess of the dawn. Percy had to admit that their powers were pretty cool, which included being able to refract the light of the dawn toward other people. Strangely enough, Eos' children also had the ability to wield magicial weapons that were imbued with the hues of the dawn. Percy had no idea how the power of the dawn worked, but one thing was for sure- it was powerful enough to make people go blind for a week.

"Ever wonder why the gods have been so random lately?" Annabeth asked, breaking the silence.

"Wise Girl... Since when have they ever not been random?" Percy responded.

Still, the whole situation proved oddly confusing to Percy. When this entire mess of events began with half of New Rome teleporting in, and the gods making everyone have a 'meeting', things got weirder. The Olympians kept coming back down to New Athens and Olympus at random times. It was almost as if Zeus couldn't decide whether or not to just allow his fellow gods to go running amok. Percy had to guess that the whole 'old grannies being kidnapped' situation had something to do with it. That, and Mother Rhea was lecturing her children like nuts.

"Random or not, it was still nice that my mother found the time to talk to me in my head when I passed out from Capture the Flag..." Reyna echoed.

"Hm... Reyna, regarding you and your mother's relationship, this looks like a step in the right direction!" Percy exclaimed, sauntering over to the praetor.

"Story of my life. In fact, that's the story of every single demigod and legacy to ever exist..." snorted Reyna. "Speaking of demigods... Don't you have a sword lesson to teach in an hour?"

"_Schist! _I really hate those early-morning classes!" Percy cursed, stomping his feet. "But anything for the adorable ten-year old children who need to learn how to kill twenty-foot tall monsters who bother them!"

"And you wonder why you don't have a concept of time, Perce..." Annabeth muttered, closing her eyes for a moment. "And Reyna, don't you... have responsibilities for the part of your legion that's still here?"

"Oh shoot!" cursed the praetor, leaping up. "I forgot- the Third and Eighth cohorts are supposed to have inspection today... I can't have them slacking off with their field camp maintenance!"

Percy wondered whether Reyna was seriously considering leading part of the legion, going to school, and dealing with the minor Capture-the-Flag injuries that she received at the same time. Even for the headstrong praetor, that seemed like a bit much. Not to mention, Reyna was also supposed to be heading back into the city in an hour.

"Well, bye guys! Rome, school, and glories await!" boomed the praetor, sprinting off the porch of the Big House.

"Don't forget that test you have on Tuesday!" Annabeth reminded, as Reyna slowed down, and wheezed- her minor injuries showing itself.

Percy had to wince. He heard all about Reyna and Annabeth's epic judo showdown from Nico, who had a look of awe when he described it. Percy felt proud of his fiancee for packing a wallop, but felt conflicted about Reyna's pain at the same time.

"Don't worry guys. I'll just tough out whatever idiot could possibly annoy me today..." said the praetor, as Percy saw her wave her hand in a _goodbye _gesture.

"Bye Reyna!" Annabeth hollered, as Reyna disappeared over the nearest hillside.

Percy saw Annabeth turn to him with a conflicted look on her face.

"Seaweed Brain... I really am worried, you know?"

"Aw, 'Beth... Come here..." Percy coaxed, as Annabeth wrapped her arms around him in an engulfing hug.

"Now, what's the matter? There's nothing to worry about. Besides the possibility of us all dying again if a primordial rises..." Percy said.

"That's the point, Seaweed Brain! I really thought we were done with all this, you know? Of course, this life is amazing, but can't we go a lifetime without having to face down an all-powerful eternal being? I know that I shouldn't be complaining about all this, but if we had kids someday... then this isn't safe for them!"

Percy blushed. He had no idea that Annabeth entertained the thought of ever having kids. After all, the thought of dying any second sort of pushed that idea away from Percy's mind. Would he even live long enough to have kids? And if he did have kids, how would they feel if their father was taken away from them in a sudden monster attack? Percy couldn't do that to himself. He couldn't live with the fact that his children could suffer each and every day without him.

"Listen... Annabeth. You know that we could die at any moment, right? I'm not even sure if it's possible for us to have kids someday..." Percy sighed, clearing his throat.

"It was just a thought... Piper gave me some good advice, you know? Just live in the moment- experience the fear and emotions that run through you. I can't beat everything with logic, I know that now. No matter what happens, we can face this together." Annabeth said, with a determined look on her face.

Percy stared at her with awe. "You figured all that out on one quest in Sparta?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I had some help."

"And _that's_ why I love you..." Percy smirked, as he swooped Annabeth down bridal-style and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Per-" began the daughter of Athena, as she sighed in contentment.

"B-but y-you..." Annabeth mumbled, as Percy deepened the kiss.

"M-mm... Okay! Seriously! As much as I love you, you really do have a class to teach!" scolded Annabeth, as Percy felt her break away from the embrace.

With horror, Percy realized that if he was late, then Clarisse was going to be the one who was going to teach those poor children... Percy knew that there was no way in Hades that he was going to allow that to happen!

"I'll see you later for the reunion, 'kay?" Percy called, as he bolted out of the Big House porch, away from a rolling-her-eyes Annabeth.

Ah, the reunion... Even though it would be smaller this year, Percy was looking forward to it. Since two years ago, just after the fall of Gaea, all of the Seven and friends agreed to have a get-together party every August 1 to commemorate all their quests and achievements. Since it seemed like doomsday was happening again, most of the Seven were off on their own quests. Percy felt kind of sad that he and Annabeth were the only ones of the Seven that were left behind. At least Reyna and Nico were around...

With that, Percy had to ask himself just where Nico was. The last he saw, the son of Hades was dragging Will Solace off somewhere after the meeting. Narrowing his eyes, Percy wondered just what the son of Hades was up to... No way was Will Solace good enough for Nico! Okay, Percy felt like he was going all overprotective-brother mode here, but Nico was kind of like his little brother now. After Nico revealed his secret, it made Percy look at him differently.

"Hey, Percy!" Annabeth called, jarring him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Percy questioned, turning around to gaze at his super-awesome girlfriend in the distance.

"Grover's coming back today for the reunion, remember? And did you stock up on peanut butter for Tyson? He and Ella are coming, you know?!"

"Yeah, I'm down with the G-Man, and of _course_ I stocked up on peanut butter! I know my own brother's eating habits!" Percy exclaimed, throwing up his hands.

"Good! Now, while you're teaching, I'm just going to work on the shrine for Hemera that Jason commissioned me on two weeks ago! You know where I'll be!"

"Of course! Love you Wise Girl!" Percy called, turning back towards the greeting hills.

"Love you too, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth called back, as Percy sprinted off on the horizon.

* * *

**Swaggy ending, eh? Next chapter will be tear-jerking, as old friends reunite... **


	40. XL: Percy

**WOW! I got seven reviews last chapter, so thank you guys very much! Next, WOOHOO! Fortieth chapter! To celebrate this, there's a HUGE shocker at the end that changes everything... Pay attention carefully! I also put a few other themes in there to sort of celebrate, as well. Sword-fighting, relationship talks... And... you'll see... ;). Again, thank you all SO MUCH! Seven reviews! Yeah!**

**Reviews:**

**jorman08: Thank you very much! I think you'll very much like this chapter... It has plenty of themes, and there's a big shocker at the end... So it should be interesting!**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Dramatics are welcome... :P. There's a little bit of Percy-Clarisse action in this chapter, so enjoy! I thought the fluff was nice, since all the couples need some to solidify their relationships... You'll like this chapter!**

**Court0624: Indeed, I tried to put some Percy/Annabeth there! I've read some of the Percy Jackson: Greek Gods, but I'm disregarding it as canon. If you notice carefully, some of the stuff in there contridacts the statements made in the books. Then again, Percy's the one telling the story, so he got some of them wrong... XD. As for the renunion... You'll see. Not quite happening yet... **

**bris38: Grover + enchiladas = awesome. This chapter is awesome too. Enjoy!**

**ashton1117: Thank you very much! We have 12-16 chapters left in this book, before we move on! As for Percy and Annabeth's wedding... You'll have to see. It will happen sometime, though. I promise you that! **

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks! I think you'll love this chapter!**

**Guest: PEANUT BUTTER! Ah, how you gotta love Tyson there... He won't be appearing for a little longer, though.**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XL: Percy**

**Okay, making Clarisse angry wasn't exactly Percy's best solution**.

"You'll pay for that, Jackson!" she roared, throwing down her broken spear, _Lamer._

"_Ooohhh_!" droned the voices of Percy's students, who were sitting on several benches nearby, watching the fight.

"Okay, Clarisse... Let's be rational here. How was I supposed to know that disarming maneuver was going to snap your spear apart? Oh, wait... I kind of knew it would do that..." Percy chuckled.

"You're just doing that to irritate me, aren't you, Jackson?"

"Probably."

As Percy circled around the amphitheater floor with Clarisse, he had to wonder just how the heck he got in this situation. Even though he made it to class on time, Percy knew that Clarisse couldn't resist stepping in and 'helping' out. The daughter of Ares then proceeded to show everyone how a spear could disarm the best swordsman in the last three-hundred years. Sadly, that failed _epicially_, as Percy disproved that theory.

"Percy, Percy, Percy, Percy, Percy!" chanted the surrounding students, stomping their feet.

"Oh, come on punks! You can't root for him every time!" Clarisse roared, shooting a glare at the chanting students.

"But you're mean to us!" piped up one ten-year old, standing up.

"Then man up! There's a war brewing on the horizon, and I'm not letting you all get hurt in the long run under my watch!"

"Clarisse... Um, isn't this a little extreme for ten-year olds? You could lighten up on them for once..." Percy stated, swiveling Riptide around.

"Jackson, I won't let 'em kids get blindsided! I have enough things on my plate with Chuck's injury!"

"Oh, yeah... How is Chuck, anyway?" Percy questioned, remembering about Coach Hedge's son.

Clarisse's expression softened. "Kid's doing alright. His nasty fall the other day had Hedge fawning all over him. Can't say I'm too worried, though. He's a fighter."

Percy was still astounded on how much Chuck Hedge had changed Clarisse as a person. To Percy, it seemed like it was just yesterday that Clarisse was dunking his head in the camp toilets. Now, she was a godmother who was dedicated to taking care of her godson.

"That's good to hear..." mused Percy. "Glad to hear about Hedge fawning around. I didn't expect that out of a guy who watches Bruce Lee for a living."

"Maybe I'll admit this- parenthood changes a person. Hedge has been busy recently. You know how Mellie took that temp job down in New Athens? I'm pretty sure that's why the coach insists on taking over Chuck's care." said Clarisse.

Percy had to admit that he hadn't seen much of the coach recently. Gleeson Hedge hadn't done too much after the Giant War, since he had a newborn son and all that. Besides taking a few additional scouting-for-demigods missions, taking care of Chuck, and making time for his wife, Mellie, Coach Hedge was getting pretty lazy. Though, Percy was pretty sure that Coach Hedge deserved a 'lazy pass' after _sort_ of saving the world. By 'sort of saving the world', Percy was pretty sure that a drink of Gatorade counted.

Clarisse pulled out a Celestial bronze sword that was dangling at her side. "Ready for an actual sword demonstration, Jackson?"

"Sure. One that'll last thirty seconds, give or take..." Percy smirked, digging his heels into the ground.

With a battle cry, the daughter of Ares charged at Percy. Percy narrowed his eyes, and sidestepped-slashed the brim of Clarisse's incoming sword. Clarisse grunted at the impact, and forced her sword upward, making Percy shuffle his leverage to the end of Riptide's hilt.

Grunting, Percy threw his weight down on the blade, making Clarisse leap back as Riptide broke the lock and grazed the ground.

"Go, Percy!" hollered Leslie, one of the cute ten-year olds that Percy recognized.

Clarisse gave the watching group of ten-year olds a look that seemed to resemble: _da heck?_

Taking a momentary lull from the action, Percy had to admire the audacity of the group he was teaching. Now that the Romans and Greeks were integrated, finding demigods and legacies proved much easier, and the transfer of several Roman legacies to New Athens as part of the Lend-Exchange program was serving its purpose pretty well. Surprisingly, there were plenty of young godly blood out there, which had to make Percy feel a twinge of sadness. Those kids were even younger than he was when they found out that the world of the gods existed.

"Are you getting sleepy or something?" Clarisse butted in, jarring Percy out of his thoughts.

Percy smiled. "Not if you are, La Rue."

Clarisse sprinted forward, and flipped her body around in a full circle, with the glint of her sword edging upwards. Percy rushed to intercept, and lunged for the ground. The ear-shattering _ringggg_ of impacting swords radiated all around the amphitheater, as Riptide collided with Clarisse's sword.

Percy wished that he had never tried swinging from the ground in the first place. Now Clarisse had the advantage, since all the pressure was extending downwards from her. Percy thought that it would be a better challenge to try and break out of a disadvantageous lock, anyway.

With all his might, Percy surged from the ground, and trailed Riptide along the length of the opposing sword, making Clarisse step back for fear of getting slashed across the arm.

As the daughter of Ares stumbled back in disorientation, Percy spiraled his sword in a corkscrew motion, aiming for the hilt of Clarisse's sword. Apparently, the strategy worked, as the _clang_ of a sword falling to the ground reached Percy's ears.

"WOO!" roared the group of ten-year olds, all standing up from the benches and applauding a thunderous noise of contentedness.

"Thank you, thank you!" Percy cheered, bending over to take a bow. "Now, as I have demonstrated, this is one way to defeat the daughter of a war god. I have also demonstrated the best way to make someone angry without knowing it!"

"That someone would be me, kiddies..." Clarisse grumbled, wiping dust out of her clothes. "And Jackson- this isn't over. I will have my revenge!"

"Does that mean dinosaurs will fly?!" Percy gasped, pumping a fist in the air.

"Now listen here, Jackson-"

"Bravo, bravo!" echoed a new voice, one that Percy recognized.

"What's up, di Angelo?" he muttered, as the form of Nico waltzed into the amphitheater ring.

"Besides watching you kick Clarisse's butt? Pretty good." retorted the son of Hades.

"Big talk for you, di Angelo!" Clarisse growled, flexing her arm muscles back and forth. "Aren't you supposed to be in school with Reyna, anyway?"

Percy thought that it was a good question. If Nico was skipping school, then Percy swore that he would knock some sense into the son of Hades. Wait, no. Annabeth would probably be the one to knock some sense into Nico. Percy was just thankful that his fiancee wasn't here right now, or else Nico would be resembling a oily pulp in the ground right about now.

"Eh, what can I say? School sucks, so... yeah. I'll just hang around in the shadows and have my dad call me in sick for the day." Nico mused, crossing his arms.

"Nico!" Percy gasped, throwing a hand over his heart. "There are innocent ten-year olds here! There's no need to be such a potty mouth!"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Sure, Jackson. If that's classified as a swear word, then we would all be in... er... Hades, right now."

"This is getting too mushy for me... I'm out of here. Stuff to do... Gotta babysit Chuck." Clarisse grumbled, stalking out of the amphitheater empty-handed.

"What's with her?" Nico questioned, as Percy saw him step several feet closer to the kiddie group.

"Eh. Probably just agitated about the whole sword thing. I _am _the best swordsman in the last three-hundred years, you know?" Percy stated, shrinking Riptide back into its pen form.

"Have you been working on your ego? I can tell." Nico snorted, patting the head of a small girl who looked terrified at his stature.

"Aw, Neeks. I'm just a little hyper. Swordfighting, doomsday, peace, how much better can it get? And, by the way you're kind of scaring Cecilia over there..." Percy mused.

"Wha? Oh... Sorry." muttered Nico, withdrawing his hand from Cecilia's head. "I'm not scary, okay? I just summon the shadows and dead zombies at will. There's nothing to be scared of!"

Tears started forming in Cecilia's eyes, as Percy rushed over to comfort her. He held the girl in his arms as she wailed about something scary.

"_Reaaaalllly?_" Percy drawled, shooting Nico a dark look.

"Hey, kids aren't my thing!" retorted the son of Hades, shrugging his arms up and down.

"Uhm, kids. I guess class is over now... It's noon already, so be safe, and head home!" Percy announced, trying to clear some private space for himself and the son of Hades.

The dozen kids all surrounding him, including a teary-eyed Cecilia, all grumbled assents of _byes _and _catch you laters_, and packed up their equipment. Taking their time, the kids sauntered out of the amphitheater, striking up some chatter. Soon, the place was empty, save for Percy and a certain son of Hades.

"Now what? If you're done terrorizing my class of ten-year olds, is there anything that you wanted to ask me?" Percy sighed, moving down his arms to rest at his sides.

"So... I was wondering, do you want to swing by and get a drink or something?" Nico asked. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Is this something _specific_ you're asking me on?" Percy chortled.

"Oh, come on! Dear gods, no! I'm already taken, and I told you a thousand times- you're not my type!" Nico gushed, as his cheeks burned a bright-red shade.

Percy couldn't help himself from eliciting a chuckle of laughter. He couldn't resist teasing Nico about the whole _date_ thing. Admittedly, Percy secretly knew that Nico was eyeing down Will Solace. Heck, he wouldn't be surprised if they were secretly dating behind the backs of all of New Athens.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Percy sipped the coffee that lay before him. With a sigh, he inhaled its contents, and gulped a quarter of the cup down in one swallow.

"After all those years, there's still one thing that hasn't changed about you- you're a whale of an eater..." Nico muttered, taking a sip of some sort of fancy Italian drink.

Percy sighed, and gazed around the little cafe he and Nico were currently sitting in. It served a wide range of various drinks and meals from other countries, which obviously made it a popular hotspot. As far as Percy knew, most of the people living in New Athens came from all over the place. China, Russia, England, Africa, Canada... you name it. Obviously, the gods seemed to be busy, since they... _uhm, _were 'visiting' plenty of countries and having all these kids. Sure, about forty-percent of them were legacies, but Percy was pretty sure that the point was made.

"So... Relationship advice is what I needed to talk to you about..." grumbled Nico, taking another sip of his drink.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You're finally down with someone, Neeks?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Why is it such a surprise for everyone? It's not impossible, you know? Well, that, and Aphrodite has been stalking me in my dreams for the last week pestering me to go ahead with all this. A little bit creepy, if you ask me. Actually, it's a lot creepier than you would think."

"Really? The son of Hades lectures me about _creepy_, when he's the living embodiment of it?" Percy stated. "And I'm not sure how much I can help you out here. Annabeth and I have more of a _go with the flow _ relationship."

"So, _go with the flow_ includes French kissing wherever you go?" Nico questioned.

Percy glared at him. "Shut up."

"Okay, but seriously, dude. This guy I'm eyeing on... Well... He's _special. _You could say that we've been getting closer for the last couple of years, give or take." Nico mused.

"Let me guess... Is Will Solace involved in this or not?" Percy asked, leaning forward and taking another sip of his coffee.

"H-how did you know?" stammered the son of Hades, looking around the cafe's pale-lime green walls nervously.

"Nico, I may be obtuse... But even I'm not _that_ stupid..." Percy chuckled. "Which reminds me- I owe Reyna forty denarii and thirty-one drachmas... I really thought it would take you another two months for you to work up the nerve..."

"It took you five years to realize that you loved Annabeth. So, touche to you on that." Nico snapped back, sticking out his tongue.

"Sure, dude. _Real_ mature... Anyway, if you're asking for a blessing or something, go ahead. Make it super-awesome or something. And if you want to be the one wearing the pants in the relationship, you need to do something _extra _super-awesome. Works every time!"

"You, the son of Poseidon, giving _me _relationship advice? The world as we know it has ended..." Nico moaned dramatically, finishing off his fancy Italian drink.

Percy was about to reply, if a busted-up Reyna hadn't pounded on the glass door of the cafe furiously.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"Reyna, what the heck happened to you?!" Nico exclaimed, as he embraced the panting praetor.

As Percy watched the brother-sister relationship, even he was shell-shocked. Here they were, standing just outside of the cafe, and the praetor was already spouting some random words before trying to catch her breath.

"R-ran all... the... w-way from school. They're coming..." Reyna panted, breaking away from Nico's embrace and putting her hands on her knees.

"Who's coming? Reyna, seriously? You really ran all the way from school? That's miles away!" Percy questioned, leaning down to the praetor's crouched stature.

Nico patted Reyna's back. "Take it easy, Rey."

After taking another second to breathe, Reyna glared at Percy with venom in her eyes. "Of course I didn't run here, you idiot. I took the subway, a bus, and jogged the rest of the way here!"

"Fine, sorry I ever asked..." Percy huffed, feigning a look of hurt.

Reyna sighed, and ran a hand through her mangled hair. "I'm sorry Perce, it's just... I was in lunch period, when dozens of monsters just crashed through the cafeteria windows. Heck, I counted fifty more pouring out of the halls! I tried fending as many of them off as I could, but it was hopeless. I barely managed to escape, but they're coming. They're bypassing New Athens's outer defenses as we speak!"

"Monsters? But that's impossible! We have heavy magic over the entire city, and the Mist is incredibly thick here... Even Annabeth designed dozens of counter-battery turrets to ward off an attack! Besides, what monster is stupid enough to attack an entire shore of Long Island filled with hundreds of Greek and Roman demigods and legacies?" Percy said, trying to figure out just what the heck was happening.

"Y-you ask me. I've got to mobilize the legion... There's only four cohorts here, but every last man and woman will be valuable. And Perce, if you don't believe me... Look for yourself."

"It's still a mile just to get outside of New Athens... And if the monsters were coming, the turrets should be-"

Percy was cut off by the _shraaackkk_-ing sound of dozens of turrets firing in the distance.

"Huh, I guess you were wrong. There's your correction, Perce..." Nico muttered, turning his head to the side of the street.

Cries and shouts filled Percy's ears, as he gazed in the direction that Nico was staring at, in confusion.

"What is that...?" Reyna stuttered, as she struggled up, furrowing her eyebrows.

All of a sudden, dozens of New Athenian citizens surged into the street, barely fifty meters away from Percy.

The cobblestone-hewn road shook and heaved as a massive stampede of panicked citizens ran for the exit junction, about seventy meters behind Percy. The cries of several parents carrying their children were evident, and some demigods were urging the crowd along- evacuating them from whatever was ahead in the distance as quickly as possible. All together, Percy counted about forty-five people running away.

"MOVE!" Nico exclaimed, yanking Reyna to the sidewalk. Percy did the same, as the crowd surged past, with looks of terror on their faces.

To Percy, this was basically a reenactment of doomsday. Why was the crowd running away? And more importantly, _what_ were they running away from? Percy was pretty sure that most people in New Athens were equipped well enough in training to deal with monsters.

"Run away! Please, for the love of Zeus, run away!" cried a male in the crowd, who seemed to be in his mid-twenties. The male ran up to Percy, and tried pulling him along.

"Whoa, dude. You gotta get out of here and let us handle this." Percy said, jerking his arm away.

Though, the fear on the guy's face had to strike a chord in Percy's heart. The man was trembling in terror, and was looking back and forth across the horizon- almost as if he was searching for something.

"P-please, you need to stop the hunter!" sobbed the dude, gripping the neck of the t-shirt that Percy was wearing. "He murdered my girlfriend!"

"Wait just a minute... Did you say a _hunter?_" Nico questioned, over the roar of the stampeding crowd.

"J-just save yourselves, okay?" the man stuttered, as he rejoined the retreating crowd.

Percy couldn't help but feel sluggish. His thoughts were jumbling inside of his mind- all of them warring with each other. Strangely, it seemed new to him, since the sensation wasn't something that he had experienced before. The crowd... A hunter... This all seemed familiar to Percy. His emotions were sluggish- rendering him unable to think. Momentarily, Percy felt a twinge of panic. This was a curse of Tartarus, in which the dark god sometimes creeped in his mind at the most critical of times, rendering him unable to do much.

"Percy, Percy!" Reyna snapped. "We've got to move out!"

Percy was about to stutter a reply, if a woman hadn't interrupted.

"What in the name of Ceres?" bellowed a new voice, as the crowd emptied into the adjoining junction, leaving the street empty.

"Oh, thank goodness. Leila, you have got to get your cohort together..." Reyna panted, hobbling over to a girl who just emerged out of a nearby flower shop.

"Reyna? Are you okay?" questioned the girl who Percy identified as Leila.

Reyna was about to respond, when a tremor rippled across the street. As the son of the earthshaker, Percy could tell that this was definitely serious. And this was no ordinary earthquake- it was one caused by the utter stampede of the incoming monsters. How they were even bypassing the defenses, Percy didn't know. By the tremors, he could tell that the monsters were surging into a street just several blocks away.

"Okay, guys... We have got to move, now..." Percy muttered, realizing just what exactly was coming.

The howl of wolves echoed across the horizon, making Percy's blood run cold. Around him, Reyna and Nico perked up, and their faces started turning into something resembling a pale-white sheet of snow.

"Not... _Possible..._" Reyna murmured, uneasily taking a step back.

"What? Can someone tell me what's going on?" Leila exclaimed, stomping her feet.

"Okay, I gotta agree with Leila here. What's got you guys in a knot?" Percy questioned, taking a step toward a stumbling Nico. "I think we can wait here just for a moment... I need an explanation- what's up with the wolves?"

Nico turned to Percy. "There's no time to explain- we have GOT to go, NOW."

"_Est ugt maedi..."_ Reyna murmured, interrupting Nico's warning.

The praetor whirled her hand in the air, and the form of her cloak shimmered into existence. Reyna's purple _aegis_, a gift from Athena, shimmered in the breeze, as she wrapped it securely around her upper back and right arm.

"Your cloak... The _aegis_ mantle, right?" Leila said, interrupting the uneasy rumble on the horizon. "Reyna, why are you pulling that out? The last time you even used it was when Orion-"

Leila's statement was interrupted as a black arrow lodged itself in her throat. The Roman demigod stumbled back, surprised by the sudden emergence of the fatal shot. Percy cried, and stumbled forward to shield the demigod, but he felt himself being restrained back by Reyna and Nico.

"NO! It's useless... _He's_ here..." Reyna cried, as Percy detected a sob building in the back of her throat.

Leila collapsed to the ground, as she bled out to death. At the same time, Percy spied Reyna throwing her _aegis_ around him and Nico, and dived under the cloak.

Percy was so stunned by this turn of events, that he didn't even react to what happened next. He heard the unmistakable sound of a bow being drawn, and another arrow being fired. A _wrackkk_ sound rang through Percy's ears as he felt Reyna's _aegis_ shield the incoming arrow.

With a grunt, the praetor rolled over, and yanked away the cloak, exposing Percy to a man who stood in the middle of the street, barely fifteen yards away.

At first glance, the man appeared to be seven feet tall. His dark hair was undercut, swept into spikes on top. His skin was the color of wheat toast. The man was wearing black leather breeches and jerkin, and wore several hunting knives at his side. The man's eyes weren't regular eyes at all- focusing rings spun and clicked in the form of mechanical sockets. At first glance, it appeared that the man was wearing military night goggles... But, he wasn't. To Percy's horror, he realized that this man was who Reyna killed two years ago.

"Orion." Reyna blurted, interrupting Percy out of his observation.

"Well, now. After sacrificing everything to rise from Tartarus once more... I suppose we meet again, praetor..." smiled the giant. "And this time... I will have my revenge."

* * *

**Now, I'm going to be cruel and switch back to the main quest next chapter! When we return... Epic battle time!**


	41. XLI: Jason

_***Important: Please read***_

**Hey guys! After browsing through the House of Hades and Blood of Olympus, I decided to switch up the strategy a little bit... I realized that writing a chapter up to 3,000-4,000 words every time is not always the best thing... One, it adds too much stress and time to me, and drags out some chapters a bit. As you know, Rick's chapters range anywhere from 350 words for one chapter, to about 4,500-ish for the longest chapter he's ever done (I counted). **

**So, that's what I'm going to do now. Some chapters may be short, like 500 words, while others could go all the way up to 4,000-5,000. In reality, the content of the story is what counts, and I realized, in previous chapters, that I may have stretched some things a little TOO much. So, the chapter sizes will "vary" now, rather than forcing myself to hit at least 3,000 every single time. Don't worry- there will still be some chapters longer than that! It's better in the long run for me to pace myself and write the story appropriately, rather than forcing myself to add in unneeded and "confusing" content just to hit 3,000. **

**Thanks for reading this, so cheers to you all!**

_***End of important note***_

**Reviews:**

**silverwolvesarecool: Indeed, this is an epic cliff-hanger! I think you'll really like this one- there's a guest that you never knew that Jason was friends with... I really think you'll be shocked!****Reviews:**

**Redxlord: Thank you very much! I also appreciate you following and favoriting me! I think you'll like this chapter, so enjoy!**

**Court0624: Indeed... Orion returns. You'll find out why eventually. I think you'll like this chapter!**

**So, without further ado... Enjoy!**

* * *

**XLI: Jason**

**Even though the whole _'making out in a hotel room'_ thing was cliche, Jason didn't mind.**

Piper narrowed her eyes, and leaned back onto the duvet. "Sparky, have you been practicing something without me?"

Jason smiled, and wrapped and arm around his gorgeous fiancee. "I guess saving the world from doom kind of lets me practice a little more than most other people, ya know?"

"Yeah, right." snorted the daughter of Aphrodite, snuggling closer to Jason.

As he lay comfortably on the duvet in the hotel room with Piper, Jason had to wonder just how weird his day had gotten. Here he was, barely a hour's drive to Seattle by car, resting up from another monster attack. After spending the last two days slowly trudging to the city on a cuss-inducing horse, of which three-fourths of the time was spent warding off monsters, Jason had to breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, he couldn't help but think on how ironic today was. It was August 1, the anniversary of the epic battle against Gaea and the giants. Now, here was Jason and his friends- about to finish their quest to rescue the Fates. One way or the other, Jason knew that the quest would end today, assuming that he didn't die in a fiery explosion. Of course, last time, said fiery explosion was caused by a certain son of Hephaestus.

"When was Leo getting here again?" Piper asked, interrupting the comfortable silence that was just forming.

"Uh... Well, he did IM us three hours ago... So, that's about two more hours, give or take..." Jason mused.

Inwardly, Jason hoped that Leo and his group would get here safely. Admittedly, he had been taken aback when the son of Hephaestus IMed him early this morning, babbling something about a mortal being taken. Jason heard that her name was Eva, and she was travelling with Leo and the others for some odd reason. Not only that, but Leo begged to meet somewhere safe, since he had a lot to tell. As that exchange happened, Jason could have sworn that his best friend was drinking _way_ more espresso than normal.

Heck, Jason didn't even know _why_ his best friend, Frank, and Calypso went off on some sort of random mini-quest. Hopefully, they would shed some answers when they got here on Festus. Knowing Leo, Jason was convinced that the son of Hephaestus would insist on arriving _fashionably_ late.

"Jason. Jason!" Piper snapped, jarring Jason out of his blank moon-space-stare.

"Sorry, what?" Jason murmured.

Piper slapped her forehead. "That sounds _exactly_ what Percy would say. Have you been spending too much time with him lately?"

"Um, to be fair, we're kind of on another death quest..." Jason retorted.

"Fair enough. Anyway, have you even given any thought to the wedding?"

Jason's eyes bulged at the mention of the wedding. Once he had proposed to Piper, the daughter of Aphrodite started going all crazy about wedding plans, which was _torture._ Jason just hoped that Piper or her mom wouldn't kill him- he wasn't exactly the kind of person to like planning weddings.

"Hm... Maybe we could do a dual wedding with Annabeth and Percy or something?" Jason ventured, trying to throw a random thought out there, praying that he wouldn't get killed.

Piper narrowed her eyes. "Not a bad idea, I might need to talk with them later. Assuming we all survive this quest, that is."

"It's a big _what if_." Jason stated, eliciting a loud yawn.

It was only the crack of dawn, and Jason was still tired. The one thing he had to be thankful for was Hazel's clever manipulation to get a hotel booked. The daughter of Pluto had scrounged up some ATM cash from a nearby town thanks to summoning some gems, and conjuring up some Mist. Jason didn't want to know the methods that Hazel used to land them a nice place to sleep, but he was just grateful to get off Arion. The horse still had a grudge against Jason after what happened a while back. Granted, at least the horse was more reliable than Hazel and Lou Ellen's manipulation of the Mist, which sometimes worked, and sometimes didn't.

"Whether that happens or not... This will be _perfect..._" Piper sighed, snuggling her head into the crook of Jason's neck.

"I know, Pipes. I'm not the best person out there, b-but I'll do my best to give you the wedding you want..." Jason reassured, pulling the daughter of Aphrodite closer to him.

"Jason Grace... We talked about this. Of course you're not perfect. No one is, for Zeus's sake!"

Thunder rumbled on the horizon.

Piper rolled her eyes, and continued. "I don't care whether the wedding is perfect or not... It's _us _that counts. I want _us _to work, Jason. Even though I'll turn into an Aphrodite-Hulk hybrid when we're doing the bulk of the planning..."

"Piper, do you have any idea how perfect you are right now?" Jason questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"You said it, not me." Piper smiled, leaning up with her lips puckered.

Jason smiled, and obliged- leaning into the kiss with all the passion he had. Piper was right- as long as they were together, Jason didn't care what happened. Maybe this was what love was really like... being _whole_ with the person you knew you wanted to be with forever.

Even as they kissed, Jason could feel another yawn enveloping him. With a groan, he broke the kiss, and stretched his arms, wrapping them tighter around Piper.

"You're still sleepy Sparky, aren't you?" Piper sighed, closing her eyes.

Jason could do nothing but nod, and gaze out of the small window that lay next to the nearby bed. The sun was rising on the horizon, illuminating the hotel courtyard that lay outside. Jason could practically sense the vibrancy of the air buzzing outside, spangling and sparking in the morning sun. This was the epitome of perfection, if Jason hadn't been so tense about a bronze dragon that could fly in at any time.

"You should get a little more sleep, you know? Never know when you could be slaying monsters for the rest of the day..." Piper suggested, with her eyes still closed.

"I-I think I'll do that..." Jason replied, sinking deeper into the duvet, with the daughter of Aphrodite in his arms.

Sighing, Jason closed his eyes, and drifted off to the land of dreams.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

The first thing that Jason saw in his dreams was darkness. At first, he had to wonder when those kind of weird dreams would reappear- not that he was missing them in the first place.

Jason felt chilling sensations enter his body as he floated in the endless darkness. Below him lay nothing but pitch-black night as far as the eye could see. This reminded Jason of the late-night marathons he would watch with Piper sometimes, minus the lack of _Family Guy_ reruns.

_"The little hero..." _crooned a voice, radiating in the vast expanse of the darkness.

Jason swiveled his floating body around as best as he could, trying to find the source of the voice. Granted, his body felt like it had been dragged out of a washer, then pre-soaked and dried, but Jason put as much effort as he could into moving it.

_"It is not a worry, little one. I intend you no harm."_ cooed the voice, seemingly as if it had been sown through a bonnet of silk.

"Yeah, sure. Tell that to every face that's ever tried telling me the same thing. Turns out, they all wanted to kill me too." Jason stated, trying to pinpoint the voice.

_"A wary hero... Better than none at all._ mused the voice. _"Very well then, I suppose you don't need gracious information regarding the Fates."_

"The Fates? You know what's happening?" Jason questioned, narrowing his eyes. The son of Jupiter sluggishly moved a hand in the darkness, trying to feel _something,_ if anything at all.

The voice laughed. _"Do I know them? Of course I do. Nonetheless, they are my own children, after all..." _

"Sorry, what? The Fates have parents?" Jason stuttered. He had always assumed that they popped out of nowhere, like one of those _Wack a Moles_ at Chuck-e-Cheese.

In response, the darkness swirled around Jason, whirling towards a horizon that he couldn't see. The bone-chilling frigidity got even worse, making Jason's teeth chatter up and down involuntarily.

A figure slowly began forming in the darkness, barely thirty yards away from Jason. He could only gaze on in awe as black tendrils rose and weaved around to make a midnight chariot. Two horses appeared out of the contorting shade, snarling and growling in the darkness. Behind the horses, the onyx chariot manifested itself in the throes of pure night itself. How Jason could see the entire thing forming, he didn't know. The only indication was the slight lightening-up of the darkness surrounding the chariot.

A being emerged from said chariot, morphing and twisting in the frigid, midnight air. Even from a distance, Jason could tell that it was a woman.

A black dress sprouted around the air, enveloping the woman in her glory, almost as if she couldn't decide whether or not to buy a pair of Gucchi shoes. Black hair elongated down to the woman's waist, and a pair of wings sprouted from her back- slowly flapping waves of midnight hues. The woman opened her eyes, and shining quasars beamed from her face, alighting the air in a blinding cacophony of night and light.

"L-Lady Nyx..." Jason stammered, struggling to force his body to kneel towards the Queen of Night.

"Jason Grace." Nyx cooed, her hands gripping the curved throes of her chariot.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, my lady?" Jason inquired, gaping like a fish out of open water.

Even as he said this, Jason felt like an idiot. Of _course_ all this indicated Nyx- Jason was familiar with the goddess. Heck, even he was friends with her only lone child back in New Athens.

"A warning, perhaps. We have much to discuss, Jason Grace." said Nyx, leaning slightly forward.

Nyx's horses of Night- Shade and Shadow, trotted toward Jason, nickering sounds of happiness.

Jason slowly rose from his kneeling position, doing as best as he could while being sort-of-like-a-ghost. He smiled, and reached out for the lingering forms of the horses of Night.

"Shade and Shadow have missed you so, son of Jupiter..." mused the goddess of Night, as Jason stroked the two horses by their manes.

"Is that so, my lady?" Jason began. "I always did wonder how far out they could act."

Nyx released a peal of laughter- its cacophony echoing across the vast confines of Night itself.

"And that is why you are my favorite, Jason Grace. Not many compares to the likes of you..." said the Queen of Night, slowly stepping out of her chariot.

Even as all this happened, Jason had to chuckle at the fact that he never told anyone, not even Piper, that he and the Queen of Night were basically 'tight' buds.

Jason's mind reflected back to Nyx's lone child in New Athens, Evelyn Jenger. The girl had shocked the entire council of Olympus by revealing that she was a demi-primordial, daughter of Nyx. Zeus was so furious that he ordered Evelyn to be destroyed, but Jason had protested. He argued with his father in the middle of the council, vouching for the girl's loyalty and safety. Sure, he nearly got incinerated, but Jason knew it was worth it- it was time for Zeus's old ways to stop. Besides, Evelyn's powers weren't on par with the Olympians- she was basically on the status of a demigod, for some odd reason.

After all that happened nine months ago, Jason made it his task to construct a cabin and shrine for Nyx immediately, which attracted the attention of the Queen of Night. She began appearing to Jason in his dreams, curious as to why he was doing this. Jason's reply was simple- all the gods and goddesses deserved respect and attention. Nyx was taken aback by all this, since she was one of the most scorned primordials.

As much as the Queen of Night grilled him, Jason stood his ground. He explained the whole situation with Zeus and Nyx's daughter, and garnered the primordial's respect so well that Nyx had taken a liking to him. The Queen of Night was still incredulous over how Jason wanted to respect every single immortal deity and their children- going so far as to become a frequent comfort.

"As much as I enjoy our talks, Jason Grace... We have much to discuss." said the Queen of Night, jerking Jason out of his thoughts.

Jason nodded, and extended a hand to the Queen of Night.

Nyx reached in the same manner, shaking Jason's hand with a regal formality. Even though Jason had done this many times, he was still incredulous on how in the name of Jupiter he was on _good _terms with a primordial. Last he checked, Jason was pretty sure that one-hundred percent of every other one he met tried to kill him.

"Before we get down to business," Nyx began, "did you enjoy the mysterious greeting in the beginning? Granted, I have been working on introducing a less harmful and deadly form of introduction, as per your suggestion."

"It's getting better, my lady..." Jason said. "Personally, I would give it a seven out of ten, in terms of friendliness factor."

The Queen of Night arched an eyebrow. "Seven out of ten? I suppose that it needs a little more work, then."

Through his dreams with Nyx, Jason managed to turn around the Queen of Night's view toward demigods. Nyx was now having a mutual respect for them- even Percy and Annabeth, who basically hijacked her palace. Having her daughter around the regular godly world also helped. Still, the Queen of Night was indifferent toward Olympus, which Jason could understand. After all, having Zeus shun you for millenia wasn't exactly the best thing to happen, even though the lord of the skies could easily be taken down by a primordial such as Nyx.

"Anyway, there is urgency in my message, son of Jupiter. If you would kindly follow me..." Nyx smiled, waving a hand through the vast expanse of Night.

Jason felt his nightly form shimmer in the frigid air, as the Palace of Night appeared before him- a stately mansion that no demigod alive, except for Jason, actually witnessed seeing inside. Jason knew that Percy and Annabeth didn't count- since they had their eyes closed. Apparently, being a friend of Nyx had its benefits.

"Lead the way, my lady." Jason beckoned, arching a hand forward.

Nyx narrowed her eyes. "Dutiful as ever, son of Jupiter. Shade, Shadow, come."

With that, the horses of Night whinnied, and bolted for the Midnight Palace, disappearing in the vast expanses of Night.

Blinking his eyes, Jason realized that they were previously silent throughout his interaction with the Queen of Night, only bolting away when their mistress ordered.

Shakily taking a step toward Nyx's midnight palace, with the goddess floating ahead, Jason wondered what was so important that the Queen of Night _had _to hijack a dream to get his attention.

* * *

**Very, very interesting, isn't it! Time for a nice chat with Nyx next chapter!**


	42. XLII: Jason

**Chapter 43: Up by Tuesday, May 19, by 10:00 EST.**

***Important Announcement***

**Hey guys! So, since this book will be ending in 10 chapters... The second one will be coming very soon! I've been thinking of an incentive, so here it is. Anyone who follows and favorites this book from now until Chapter 50, will receive an exclusive trailer/teaser for Book Two! The title will also be revealed! All you guys have to do is to post a review here or PM me privately, saying that "I want the teaser", and I'll check that you're followed to the book, or myself. I would prefer that people should follow me, since you will be getting updates for other stories of mine, as well as the second book, which will begin sometime in June or July. Thanks!**

***End Annoucement***

**Reviews:**

**silverwolvesarecool: The Queen of Night is indeed awesome... You will learn much of her backstory in this chapter. This chapter is totally Nyx. Enjoy!**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Yeah... Jason's a special guy. He's taking more of a backseat this chapter, since Nyx is in control. You'll be learning much about the Queen of Night tonight! I thought you knew the Fates had parents... It was mentioned in the House of Hades that Nyx was their mom, but oh well! Enjoy, and thanks for the review!**

**awesome sause: Thanks for the review! I appreciate that, but to publish it, I would have to buy the rights from Uncle Rick ;). Extensive editing would be needed too, since some chapters are... not quite up to snuff. Thanks for the review, anyway!**

** .395: Thank you very much! I'm pleased that it's taken you several days to read all the way from Chapter One to Forty-One, in the sense that I know that've I written enough... Thanks for the 'so gripping I can't revise'! Well, studying is very important, but you know what I mean. It pleases me that my story is compelling for you to read. The good thing is, four more books will be coming out after this, so many more gripping adventures await! If you have a similar idea, it's no problemo! Let me know if I can assist you in any way! Just be sure not to take those OCs, plots, and yada yada. ;). Of course you wouldn't, anyway! Just ask for help, and thanks for the review, favorite, and follow!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLII: Jason**

**Relaxing in the Palace of Night did wonders for Jason. **

"Do you need another pillow, dear child?" questioned Nyx, making herself comfortable on a black couch.

"Yes, my lady. That would be most appreciated," Jason said, pushing his dream-self's glasses up.

In response, the Queen of Night snapped her fingers, and Jason felt a comfortable sensation attach itself to his lower back- a pillow made of satin.

Even though all this was a dream, Jason was enthralled by the absolute realism of it. Then again, most demigod dreams were incredibly realistic in the biggest way possible- almost as if their consciousnesses were pulled away from a physical body.

Gazing all around him, Jason knew that he was in Nyx's library, an extension of her Mansion of Night. This was where he usually ended up in his dreams with the goddess- chattering away by the crackling hearth of black flames that sizzled nearby. The demonic cacophony of wails echoed in the distance, radiating from the various prisons that Nyx kept locked in the dark confines of her mansion. Jason had to give the goddess more credit than normal- most other people didn't realize the kind of work that the Queen of Night was doing.

Jason also had to give Nyx credit for the intuitive way that she locked her mansion. The Queen of Night granted a sight, or blessing, to the people she wanted to enter her palace- to gaze on the true confines of Night itself. It was no wonder that Percy and Annabeth wandered around Nyx's palace with shut eyes; they did not have the blessing of Night itself.

If Jason had to make a comparison, he thought that the blessing of Night was basically night-vision, like in _Call of Duty. _Minus the dozens of people trying to gun you down in a multiplayer match, that was. It wasn't a particularly fun time for Jason either- the half-dozen monsters tailing him afterwards wasn't really worth it.

"Now, down to business, Jason Grace. I brought you here to discuss your small issue about the Fates. Turns out, I have a problem too..." said the Queen of Night, folding her arms across her chest like one of those _60s_ hippies.

"I guess the feeling is mutual, my lady. Stuff's been hitting the fan lately... And I'm kind of freaked out how weird it is," Jason mused, staring right into Nyx's quasar eyes.

The Queen of Night blinked. "First things first, _pontifex_, you must be prepared for the fallout."

"The fallout? You mean something bad's gonna happen?" Jason questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

Nyx inclined her head. "Jason Grace, the world as you know it now will change after today. Whether you like it or not... Whatever happens at the end of your journey, it will touch all the souls of the world, from the peaks of Olympus, to the depths of Chaos itself."

"Cataclysmal, even?" Jason asked, hoping to get a better response out of the primordial.

Secretly, Jason was freaking out on the inside. Here was an all-powerful primordial, prophesying that something doomful would happen at the end of the quest. Jason knew that he should have expected better- something bad always happened, anyway. He just didn't think that something that _huge _would happen- of which it attracted the attention of a primordial.

"Ah, that depends on the viewpoints of _certain _people. I can say with assurance that you, _pontifex, _will be of utmost importance in bridging the gap," Nyx said, inspecting her fingernails.

With that rhetorical statement, Jason felt a chill enter his veins. Being _pontifex maximus _was incredibly stressful for him, since hundreds of gods were breathing down his neck every second, like that scene from the _Poltergeist._

The smell of musty books wafted through Jason's nostrils, even in a dream. All around him, rows upon rows of gantry shelves were stacked up high with books- ancient texts from a time predating the Olympians themselves. Stygian iron glimmered on mantle trimmings, illuminating the library.

"So... Bridging the gap? Sounds similar to my job," Jason said.

"You will have help, son of Jupiter. This cannot be done alone. I dread what Ouranos has in store for the Fates. After he is done with them, they will be deposed of... Such as one of your mortal trash cans."

"Wait a minute... Ouranos? Since when?!" Jason exclaimed, jerking up from the couch.

"Oh... You weren't supposed to know that yet. My apologies. It would have made no difference, anyway. Your friend Leo would have carried the same news, as he is currently on his way," said the Queen of Night.

"Okay, Nyx. I want to get some ground rules down. Eons ago, Ouranos went _boom boom_ thanks to the Titan Kronos! As in shredded to millions of pieces... Unable to reform ever again. Heck, we defeated Gaea the same way! It should be impossible..." Jason said, pacing back and forth furiously.

In reality, Jason was freaked out like... er... Hades. How could a sky god defeated thousands of years ago suddenly be able to reform? Jason thought that if Ouranos uttered some last words, it would be _'I will never come back!'._

Sadly, that didn't appear to be the case. Jason knew that Ouranos would win the number one award for 'most psychotic immortal being'.

"Okay, wait, wait..." Jason continued. "So I ran around with my friends, nearly dying dozens of times, and you didn't bother to tell me earlier?"

Nyx shrugged. "That's not the way it works. You and I both know that's not how us immortals operate. Besides, you were about to find out in another hour, give or take."

"Okay, psychotic sky god aside, have you been learning modern-day jargon?"

The Queen of Night arched an eyebrow. "Perhaps. Maybe it would suit you better to sit down rather than pace around like a madman?"

Jason knew that an underlying order was lined in Nyx's silken voice, so he sat back down.

"Right... So, that aside. Thanks for telling me. Nice to know the exact time your best friend arrives... And the return of someone crazy," Jason said, trying to read the Queen of Night's face.

Nyx remained impassive, with the distinct flipping of pages radiating around the library. Jason learnt a while back that the Queen of Night had _shade_ servants- people who once owed a debt. They were invisible, catering to the various inhabitants around the Mansion of Night. By various inhabitants, several of Nyx's children lived in the palace during the day, while her child Hemera walked the world.

"It is no problem, Jason Grace. As you mortals say, it is time to change the topic of discussion," said the Queen of Night, breaking the descending silence.

"First, my children... The Fates... Did it ever occur to you as _pontifex _to recall the details regarding our bloodline?" Nyx questioned, with an obvious teasing twinkle in her quasar eyes.

"Uh... Well..." Jason stammered.

Nyx smiled. "It is no great concern of yours, Jason Grace. I am in the understanding that your duties as _pontifex_ only requires you to know the basic details of the gods. Knowing _hundreds _of them, even, must barely be comprehensive in your small, mortal mind."

Jason wondered whether that was a complement or an insult. He decided to go with the former, since the Queen of Night honestly meant no harm.

"Regarding on that, my lady," Jason began, "they're your kids?"

The Queen of Night nodded. "So very long ago, eons before your time, there was nothing but Chaos. I was one of his very first children to emerge from the Void itself, besides my elder brother, Erebos, of course."

Jason had no idea that Chaos was a guy. He decided to keep that comment to himself.

Nyx continued. "Of course, you know the creation story of _Gaea, _et cereta. As she was born, I wallowed below the depths of Tartarus in my palace. Of course, that gets oneself lonely, since we often have such few choices of suitors. I began creating children- children for myself to enjoy, love, and take care of. Regardless of what you know, Jason Grace, I did this for the better, despite the many stories you hear of the horrors I have created."

Jason realized that he _did_ hear some stories about the Queen of Night's children. Granted, Percy did mention that one of them, Akhlys, tried to kill him and Annabeth. But hey, Jason felt like he wasn't one to judge. Well, unless those sort of goddesses tried to kill him on sight, that was.

"I thank you for your impartial judgement. However, you know of a bothersome child of mine, Eris," said the goddess of Night, seemingly as if she had read Jason's mind directly. "If I recall correctly, she tried to go on a homicidal and suicidal spree in Nashville, nearly killing you, and stirring the throes of Ouranos's consciousness."

Jason really didn't want to be reminded of that day in Nashville. Just the thought of that incident nearly gave him a migraine.

"Nyx, if I may be blunt... Your daughter was a wackjob! She nearly killed me and my fiancee! She blew up buildings, killed mortals, and basically did everything that broke the ancient laws!" Jason spurted, feeling flashbacks of that horrible day course through his head.

Of course, it was only a couple of days ago, but Jason still remembered that fight with Eris vividly. Heck, he even remembered the hopelessness of despair course through him as he crashed into the Tennessee River with Piper. If Dave hadn't answered his call, Jason had no idea what would have happened down there. He remembered the true _fear_ and terror that came with being shocked by the red tendrils of energy, almost as if Eris's powers were draining the fight out of him.

"Of course my daughter would be a... _wackjob_, as you mortals call it. Simply put, as the Queen of Night, I have absolute power over my children. Eris was different- I could not control her. Which leads me to conclude one thing- the _word_ is being used."

"The _word?_" Jason asked.

Nyx nodded. "Yes, the _word_. In the throes of Night itself, only one thing can free the ties to my children. Names have power, Jason Grace. Wherever and whatever the case, my daughter is being manipulated as such. Eris is strife- the subtle whisper of dissent. It is extremely uncharacteristic and unlike her to be so bold in her advances."

"That's well and all, my lady... But I believe you were talking about the Fates? You said they were really important?" Jason questioned, trying to steer the conversation back on topic.

"The Fates... Ah, my poor children. Ouranos is using them for his nefarious scheme... Or _schemes_, I would say."

"Gaea..." Jason mused. "Her plans had layers. Does that mean Ouranos has something similar in mind?"

To Jason, this was starting to get personal. He loved the sky, Piper, and just about everything else, minus a plate of hot nachos. If all these things were being threatened by Ouranos, then he would take personal action. Well, except the hot nachos. They could be destroyed anytime.

"Jason Grace. One thing you should know about the primordials," Nyx began, "_we_ always have layered plans. What Ouranos is planning, however, is far, far worse. He seeks to divide the world to make his rise even easier. He seeks to create new _children_ for himself, which is part of the reason the Fates have been kidnapped. He wants their destiny to be much like the giants- in which they can only be killed in certain conditions."

Jason had to groan. Killing the giants was hard enough. Now, having to kill new children of a primordial? Yup, Jason knew that they would be finished. Ouranos wouldn't be stupid. He would learn from the mistakes of everyone who had risen before him- Gaea, Kronos... And use the Fates to create his terms. The only thing Jason knew he was missing was how the heck the Fates even got kidnapped in the first place.

"As for their kidnapping..." started the Queen of Night.

Yup, it was mind-reading. Jason was sure of it.

The Queen of Night continued. "My children, the Fates... They weaved up and high in their loom, and I observed. The instant I lost focus, they were taken. How one person could even find the means to snatch beings as powerful as they... I have no idea. It was certainly not the rising sky... He is far too weak to attempt that. No... Someone nefarious is behind all this. My power as a primordial is incredibly strong, rivaled by nearly no other. How in my name that my children were slipped from under my eye... I cannot say."

"With all due respect, my lady... How do you even know how all this is going to happen?" Jason questioned. "That's kind of specific, if you ask me."

Nyx blinked. "I am the mother of the Fates themselves... Whom weave and create the _future_ of all. Are you getting sleepy?"

"Uh... We're in a dream."

"Fair point, Jason Grace. The matter is this- I see all."

"Yes, and that's totally awesome. Who wouldn't want to see all?!" Jason exclaimed, trying to lighten the situation.

The familiar sounds of growling horses rang through the Mansion of Night, turning Jason's attention to the library entrance, barely a hundred feet away.

Midnight-blue streaks of light flashed through Jason's eyes as Shade and Shadow- the horses of Night, burst through the Stygian iron doorway, thrashing and banging around on the onyx floors.

"Ah, that would be your cue, Jason Grace," the goddess said, as the horses skidded to a stop, sniffing and whinnying at Jason.

"Cue? You mean... I'm going to wake up?"

The primordial nodded. "Your friend Hazel should be along any moment. Unless you want her to see the compromised position that you and your... er... fiancee are in, I suggest you get a move on."

In response, Shade surged forward, nuzzling his nose in Jason's hair, snorting and steaming black hues of energy.

"My lady... But all this is cryptic enough as it is. What are we finding in Seattle? What's happening with your kids?" Jason asked, trying to get as much information as possible before he got shocked back into reality.

"All will be revealed in due time, Jason Grace. I have my own set of rules to abide by- I will not step in so willingly. The quest is yours alone to conquer, with your friends at your side."

"Cheerful... Very cheerful, my lady," Jason said sarcastically.

"Don't get so down," began the Queen of Night, "besides, if Ouranos were to _ever_ wake- provided that you cannot stop him from doing so, I would step in to assist."

Jason felt his heart sink. "What would you need to step in for?"

If a primordial could get worried, Jason could have sworn that sort of look crossed through the Queen of Night's face at that moment.

"I have neglected to mention one additional thing. As the birth mother of magic itself, I recognize black magic when I see it. The energy radiating off from Seattle matches it. This could be part of the reason why Ouranos may wake, black magic. It is a forbidden sorcery, available to only those who choose a dark path. Perhaps... All these eons ago, Ouranos may have locked away a part of himself, sealed with that magic. Or perhaps, someone is raising him using this sorcery. Either way, it cannot turn out well. If the primordial of the skies receives a supercharge with this magic, then I will be forced to step in. I cannot stand by and abide this dangerous misuse, of which it could extend far beyond my power if not stopped early enough."

"Um... Okay?" Jason stuttered, having no idea about the whole black magic thing. At least it was deadly- that much was evident.

Shadow stomped his hooves loudly, making Jason jump. Together, both horses of Night nuzzled Jason, beginning to spark even larger hues of energy.

"That is all, Jason Grace. It was lovely to speak to you. Also, would you keep an eye out for my daughter? I cannot foresee whether she would survive the impeding situation."

"Surviving...? You mean something bad's going to happen in New Athens?"

Jason felt himself stagger backwards, as his vision began blacking out, even though he was in the Mansion of Night. He saw Nyx wave a gesture of farewell, as he jerked back into the land of reality.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"OW! Jason!" Piper exclaimed, as Jason felt himself jerk his head up, and bang it against his wonderful fiancee's forehead.

Jason could do nothing but groan, and roll over onto the floor, with Piper falling down onto his chest.

The sun was now up- its rays shining through the lone glass sliding-door ten feet away. Jason could feel his eyes burn after being in a dream filled with nothing but the blackness of Night itself. Granted, Night was a cheerfully informative primordial who gave news of death and doom, but Jason wasn't really going to count that against the goddess.

"Jason... What is up with you? You look like you've seen a shadow," Piper said, as Jason felt relief as the daughter of Aphrodite struggled up from the awkward position.

You have no _idea, _Jason thought.

Of course, logically, Hazel had to barge in at that moment. The door handle rattled and shook as Jason observed her dashing into the room, with a layer of sweat beaded across her forehead.

"OH! Um..." muttered the daughter of Pluto, as her cheeks turned red. "Do you guys need another moment?"

"No! We gotta talk guys. I just had this crazy dream... Where is everyone, anyway?" Jason questioned, rising up from the carpeted floor.

"Lou's down in the breakfast hall... And, there's one other thing you guys should know," Hazel said, slowly backing out of the door, with a blush still evident on her cheeks.

"Yeah, what is it?" Piper asked.

The daughter of Pluto made a swallowing sound.

"Leo's here."

* * *

**Big meeting-up time next chapter! Woo-hoo! Be sure to review, favorite, follow, and all that random stuff! **


	43. XLIII: Jason

**Here's another chapter for you guys! It's definitely a longer one. Keep in mind, there's now eight people in the scene, so I can't go all around with everyone in detail. You should all know what they're up to by now, and Jason doesn't pay attention to everyone. :P**

**Reviews:**

**silverwolvesarecool: Yup, he's back! And here's another chapter for ya!**

**lovedystopia: It's great to hear from you! Don't worry, I'll be here patiently, waiting for you to review with a super-awesome mega chapter!**

**Court0624: It'll come eventually. ;). Tick tock, ten chapters left!**

**bris38: Leo and tacos are great. They equal a match in heaven. That, and Calypso.**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLIII: Jason**

**Before accidentally kissing Calypso, Jason thought that running to the courtyard was going just great.**

"Mmmpf?" moaned Atlas's daughter, as Jason rammed into her head, his lips accidentally smashing into hers.

Together, Jason toppled to the carpeted ground with Calypso, as Piper and Hazel ran around the corridor.

"What in my mother's name are you doing with my fiance?!" Piper roared, diving into the messy pile that Jason was currently situated in.

"G-get off of me!" Calypso groaned, as Jason felt a slap streak across his right cheek, making him clutch it in agony.

Crawling on all fours, Jason managed to wedge himself out of the dogpile, while dealing with the throbbing slap. Obviously, it came from Calypso, who was looking at him with a murderous look in her eyes. Hazel was nearby, blushing furiously at the scene, which Jason couldn't blame her for. Accidentally kissing Calypso wasn't exactly the worst thing to happen- her cinnamon scent was lingering, even now.

Jason felt ashamed over what happened. It was totally an accident- he was so focused on getting out to tell Leo the news.

"Jason, what the heck were you doing with her?!" Piper yelled, as her eyes started sparking a pale-pink color, which was totally new to Jason.

"B-but... W-we j-just accidentally r-ran in each other! I promise!" Jason stuttered, struggling to his feet.

"I'll attest to that, Piper. And it was NOT enjoyable, for your information!" Calypso chimed in, pulling Piper up along with her.

In hindsight, Jason had no idea that whole fiasco was going to happen. After Hazel told him that Leo had landed Festus and his party in the front courtyard of the hotel, Jason had immediately bolted for it. And yes, Jason knew about the pun. He was feeling a little 'punny' today.

"Oh... Sorry. I-I don't know what came over me. It must be my inner Aphrodite again..." Piper muttered, burying her face in her hands. "Weird... It's like going through puberty all over again."

"I went through puberty in five minutes," Calypso shrugged, rubbing her arms for circulation.

Looking at Leo's girlfriend closer, Jason could see why the girl had stolen his best friend's heart. Her dripping sarcasm easily countered Leo's punny jokes, and she looked like she would beat up the son of Hephaestus at a moment's notice. Calypso was wearing a simple t-shirt, along with blue jeans- the standard attire for throwing yourself in a quest that could kill you.

"Five minutes? Oh, yeah... You used to be immortal," Piper said, seemingly unfazed by the little spat just moments earlier.

"Is this over now?" Hazel asked, with her hands over her eyes.

If a girl could stay that quiet after a chaotic first greeting, Jason was sure that Hazel would win the first-place award for that.

"Yup! Just a 'lil misunderstanding here. You can peek away from that shield and start getting used to the modern world a little bit more," Calypso said, while a grin made its way across her face.

In a way, Jason supposed that Hazel and Calypso were similar. They both had no idea what electronics were like. They were both kind of old- the only difference being that Calypso was four or five thousand-ish years older. They both had issues adjusting to the mortal world, but Calypso seemed to be adapting to it much easier than Hazel was. Jason reminded himself to really take some initiative to push Hazel to adjust a little bit better. If a Titan who was stuck on an island for millenia could run around like a modern day person, then Hazel could do it too. But everyone was different, so Jason didn't mind.

"I-I'm sorry. The whole kiss idea startled me... So scandalous," Hazel stated, fanning her cheeks.

"Eh. It was an accident. Besides, it's not like we're leaving our boyfriends..." said Calypso.

"But still!"

"Still not. I think I need to teach you a few things, Hazel. Leo told me all about you, you know?"

Jason made eye contact with Piper. Both he and the daughter of Aphrodite silently agreed to set up a meet and greet for age-challenged people who have lost touch with the world for many years.

"How nice..." Hazel stated, sounding like it was a question. "But it's good to see you again, Calypso.

The daughter of Atlas inclined her head. "Likewise, Levesque."

"So... Where's Leo?" Piper questioned.

Jason thought that it was a good question. Normally, Leo wouldn't be very subtle when flying in on a bronze dragon, but Jason didn't hear any noise outside of the hotel. Unless the son of Hephaestus put a super-awesome magical cloaking device on the dragon, Jason doubted the whole thing.

"Oh... Yeah. He's outside. He and Frank are just looking around to see if the perimeter is safe. There's a lot of disturbing things we heard about that you need to know," Calypso explained.

"It's the same here. I had a dream... And there were some warnings, I'll give you that," Jason retorted.

Calypso narrowed her eyes. "Then it's no coincidence. We're in for a nasty surprise."

"Hello? Confused daughter of Aphrodite here?" Piper stated, raising up her hands in frustration.

"Going outside will provide you with answers," Calypso creepily said, raising her hands for emphasis. "And yes, it is a reference from one of your newfangled mortal TV shows. How you even watch those things, I don't know."

"Uh... While you guys are outside, I'm going to go get Lou. She's eating a waffle in the breakfast room, the last I saw..." Hazel muttered, sprinting to the nearest elevator.

The elevator chimed with a pleasant ding when Hazel pressed the button, and the daughter of Pluto disappeared inside. The whole scene reminded Jason of Percy and Annabeth's venture around Tartarus, when they went up the Doors of Death back into the mortal world. Granted, at least a hotel room elevator wasn't going to kill Hazel, unlike the Doors of Death.

"Well... That was sudden," Piper said, chewing her thumbnail furiously.

"Anyway, guys. Leo's outside. If you wanna hear what we have to say, then get a move on!" Calypso hollered, jerking a thumb toward a nearby stairwell.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"Mi amigos!" Leo hollered, as Jason burst into the outer courtyard of the hotel, the wind blowing against his face.

"Leo!" Piper cried, pushing Jason aside and rushing for the son of Hephaestus.

"Hey! What about me!" Jason exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

In reality, Jason was just happy to see Leo alive and well, and he knew that Piper would be too. After years of believing that his friend was dead, Jason was still having a hard time believing that Leo was back. What did make him a little angry, though, was the fact that Leo just went up and roamed the world for two years without telling anybody. But Jason thought that Leo secretly had a reason for not telling anybody that he was alive.

"Leo... You have no idea how good it is to see you!" Piper exclaimed, as she suffocated the son of Hephaestus under a bone-crushing hug.

"Yes, I know! My awesomeness just magnetically attracts anybody to me!" Leo boasted, as his face started turning a hue of blue from the suffocating hug.

Suddenly, Jason noticed Festus roaring, barely ten yards away. Heck, he hadn't even noticed his old friend, Happy the dragon until now. Festus spewed out throes of fire, and the dragon stomped and crashed on the courtyard floor, cracking several cobblestone bricks that were laid about.

"That's my boy!" Leo exclaimed, breaking out of Piper's death grip.

"Dude... It's great to see you!" Jason said, sauntering over to give Leo a bro hug.

The son of Hephaestus obliged, slapping Jason's back like a lightning bolt going at one-hundred twenty miles an hour, and Jason certainly knew what that felt like.

"Jase... Jase... Lightning Boy. You have no idea what it's been like without you!" gasped Leo, pulling away from the bro hug. "It's been... what... an eternity since we played Mario Party 6?"

"Leo... That hasn't happened for two and a half years..." Jason snorted. "Besides, the better question is this- what's been up with ya?"

The son of Hephaestus shrugged. "Yeah, well. I went on a nice tea-party visit to Calypso's dad. He pulled the whole mean-and-scary act, but I totally blew that off with my awesomeness!"

Jason's eyes widened. "You mean Atlas? Why?"

"I think we'll explain in due time," Calypso said, sauntering over to Jason and Leo.

"Yeah... Right. I have big news to tell you guys too. Wait... Where is Frank, anyway?" Jason questioned, scanning around the serene courtyard.

"Here," said a new voice.

Jason felt himself jump- startled by the sudden sharpness of the voice, which seemed to be incredibly tinny in nature.

A snake emerged out of a nearby brush, twisting and hissing towards Jason. It arched its back, and began morphing and shifting. Jason stood on in awe as Frank emerged from the snake- his skin slowly turning from red and white coral stripes into normal human form.

"Bravo, bravo, Zhang!" Leo hollered, clapping his hands together furiously- almost as if he had taken a dozen syringe needles full of caffeine.

"Aw, it wasn't much. Just scanning for threats with my snake senses..." muttered the son of Mars, with his cheeks turning a pale-red tint.

"Dude, how have you been?" Jason asked, leaning in to give Frank a bro hug as well.

If Percy and Annabeth were here, then Jason would have thrown a party with cake and punch. After all, most of the Seven were finally back together again, after being tragically separated by two quests last week. But, for now, five of the seven, along with Calypso and Hazel, would have to do. Heck, it was technically seven to Jason, but Percy and Annabeth would make it complete.

Frank tapped his feet nervously. "Um, so have any of you seen Hazel?"

"She went to go look for Lou Ellen... So, she should be coming in any time," Piper said, crossing her arms.

Festus the dragon curled and snorted, nuzzling his bronze nose against the daughter of Aphrodite's chest, making her smirk. If Festus was human, Jason swore that the dragon would give him a run for his money when it came to dating Piper.

"Frank!" chimed in a new voice, which Jason knew was Hazel.

He turned around to the main doorway of the hotel entrance, where the daughter of Pluto was sprinting towards Frank. While that was happening, Jason noticed Lou Ellen slowly walking outside as well, while slurping down some sort of smoothie. For a dangerous quest, and almost dying a couple days ago, Lou looked perfectly content and calm, which made Jason nervous.

Hazel and Frank both embraced in a tight hug, while Lou Ellen walked over to Festus, casually throwing her smoothie towards the ground. The dragon started licking it up, until it was totally gone- probably a puddle of acid goo in Festus's stomach by now.

"_Niña mala_!" Leo exclaimed, waggling an accusatory finger. "That'll give Festus indigestion!"

Lou Ellen shrugged. "He seems to like it."

"Okay, now that we're all here..." Calypso began, putting an arm around Leo, who was angrily walking towards Lou Ellen. "Can we get started on what we have to say? There's a lot of important stuff we need to talk about, and I'm just happy we caught you guys in time before you walked in that death-trap."

"Whoa, hold on... What do you mean, death trap?" Jason asked.

"Be sure to mention the kidnapping!" Frank hollered, while still embracing Hazel.

"Hm. Well, so my dad kind of warned us about a trap set for you guys down in Seattle. He said that he could sense a large massing of _something_ in the area. Not only that, but our mortal friend, Eva, was kidnapped while we were talking. I suspect she's being used in the plan..." Calypso rambled.

"Time warp... I guess we need to talk. Wanna sit down?" Jason offered, planting himself on the cobblestone floor.

Everyone obliged, sitting down in a semicircle arc around Jason. Piper sat next to him, her hands entwined with his. Leo pulled Calypso into his lap, and Hazel and Frank were both just comfortable holding hands. The only loner was Lou Ellen, who had drawn her knees up to her chest. Jason felt a moment of deja vu just then- back when Leo used to be a seventh wheel. Now, it was Lou Ellen.

If this was the mortal world, then Jason would note the camp-like ironic setting. Then again, a normal camp didn't involve training young children on how to kill monsters all bloodthirsty-like before they went for you. If the Stolls were here, then Jason knew that they wouldn't be able to resist pranking, looting, and stealing everything in sight. Heck, they would fit in perfectly with a normal mortal camp. Of course, they wouldn't get caught. As much as Jason appreciated mortals, they just couldn't comprehend the magical power of the gods.

"Right... Time to break out the snacks! Who wants to go first with their story?!" Leo said, smiling mischievously.

Festus laid down nearby, spewing out fire in response.

"Leo... I think we're both going to say the same thing," Jason guessed. "Hey, let's try saying it at the same time!"

"You read my mind, bro," said the son of Hephaestus. "Okay, ready? One... Two... Three!"

"Ouranos," Jason said, along with Leo.

"Whoa, we were thinking the same thing! We must be twins separated at birth..." gasped the son of Hephaestus.

"Idiot," muttered Calypso, facepalming herself. Piper did the same thing, groaning in shame.

All the while, Jason knew that his suspicions were confirmed. Whatever Leo and the others were doing, it was related. Either way, the quest would end today, and Jason knew that it would be together, with his friends. After his various discussions with Nyx, Jason had learnt how to be more perceptive, and he could see a greater thing forming- getting back together was no coincidence.

"Wait.. The sky god? Primordial? The guy who got chopped up thousands of years ago?" Lou Ellen questioned.

"Bingo! We have a winner!" Leo exclaimed, tapping his nose furiously.

"I'll explain-" began the son of Hephaestus.

"Wait. I think I should go first. We have a bigger problem on our hands, in general," Jason said, leaning forwards.

"Go ahead, by all means," Calypso said, while shooting a dirty look at Leo.

Jason took a deep breath, and began explaining his entire dream.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

The response that Jason was expecting was something that he didn't expect- total silence.

For finding out that Ouranos might wake up, Jason noticed that everyone seemed unusually calm. Leo, Calypso, and Frank looked bored at the mention, and for some reason, Lou Ellen seemed to be calm too. Only Hazel and Piper elicited some emotion, but it wasn't really present on their faces. Jason felt like he wouldn't know- he wasn't really all that good at reading emotions like _certain_ other people could.

"Okaaayyy... So, you're friends with an emo queen?" Leo questioned, breaking the eerie silence.

"Whoa, man. You gotta give Nyx credit here. She's the Queen of Night, and I really don't think you want to make her angry. Trust me, her palace is mental enough to drive you insane if you don't have the _Sight._" Jason advised, wringing his hands together.

"Jason... You know, it would have been nice to know that you were friends with the primordial of Night itself... What else have you been keeping from me?" Piper questioned, narrowing her eyebrows.

"Okay, Pipes... I really didn't think it was that important. Besides, I have hundreds of gods to manage, and you've never been bothered by most of them!"

"Still. Seems a little suspicious that you're cozying up to Nyx..." muttered the daughter of Aphrodite.

"I swear. There's nothing going on. I love you, okay?" Jason reassured, placing Piper's hands into his own palms.

"Aww... My heart melts for this," Calypso cooed, making little wiggling motions of joy.

"Cal... What about our love?!" Leo exclaimed, raising his hands.

"Shut up, Valdez," retorted the daughter of Atlas.

"With pleasure."

"Right... Sorry Jason. I don't know what's up with me..." Piper frowned. "I've been feeling a little edgy lately, and I don't know why."

A gentle breeze streaked across the sky, making Jason feel a slight chill. The surrounding trees around the courtyard bent slightly, straining under the gusting winds. For the first time, Jason had a real glimpse at the hotel's magnificent courtyard. It was several hundred feet wide and long, stretching around like a maze. Neat, linen paths were adorned in every direction, with toparies dotting the landscape in neat rows. The hotel itself was made of whitewashed stucco walls, which was a strange sight for Jason to see, considering that they were incredibly close to Seattle.

"Okay, enough with all that romantic hodgepodge stuff. Now, what about New Athens?! You said it was under attack, right?" Lou Ellen questioned, breaking the uneasy silence.

"We've got to go back... Percy and Annabeth. Reyna and Nico. Everyone... they're in trouble," Hazel muttered, while Frank pulled her closer.

Jason had to admit that it was worrying. He felt compelled just to fly all the way back to New Athens to help defend, but he knew in his heart that Percy and everyone else back there could handle themselves. There were plenty more powerful demigods on reserve. Besides, it wasn't like a bloodthirsty giant rose from the dead to take revenge or something. Even by demigod standards, that would be totally ridiculous.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

**-Meanwhile, back in New Athens-**

"YOU WILL DIE NOW!" Orion cackled, firing arrow after arrow from his wizened bow.

For Orion, this was the ultimate time to extract his revenge upon that foolish girl, Reyna. After his master gave him too sweet of a deal to resist, Orion couldn't help but taking it up. Yes... he knew that New Athens would be razed to the ground, thanks to his massed army, courtesy of Tartarus.

Artemis would suffer, and he would personally hunt down the goddess after Reyna was dealt with. Orion knew that his pride was wounded, and he wouldn't let any pathetic girls show him up.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

**-Now-**

"We can't," Calypso retorted.

Jason saw everyone else around him scrunch in confusion, except for the dynamic duo of Leo and Calypso.

"Why?" Piper asked. "Even half of New Rome is back there. This is really, really bad."

"Yeah, but... If we don't do this, then this is all for naught. It'll take us a while just to get back to New Athens. We're barely sixty miles away from Seattle. We MUST rescue the Fates- first and foremost. Everyone dies in vain if we can't stop Ouranos from executing whatever he has planned. Heck, it'll be easier to rescue the Fates and have them transport us back home. It's even faster than travelling back by ourselves," Calypso rambled.

Jason remembered all these years ago, when Hera was freed from her cage. The goddess had instantly transported him, Piper, and Leo back home. Calypso's point made a lot of sense there.

"Well, you do make a good point. Besides, Eva does need to be rescued. We came here in the first place to stop what's going on. That's our duty," Frank stated, while a thoughtful look crossed his face.

"Huh... I can see why I may come in handy. If Ouranos wakes up... Then my underground senses become useful," Hazel said.

"Preach, preach!" Leo cheered. "We're up for navigating a creepy tunnel!"

The daughter of Pluto rolled her eyes. Lou Ellen stuck out her tongue.

Calypso leaned forward. "First, we already knew about Ouranos. My dad confirmed it when we visited him. Then, while we were about to leave, lo and behold, the guy himself appeared in the sky- talking to us all menacing-like."

"The primordial of the _skies_ came to you?" Jason hissed. "Stuff just got real."

"It's been happening a lot. Now that I look back on it... The dreams we had with swirling clouds... It must have been him too," mused Calypso, leaning back into Leo's arms.

"Wait.. We had those dreams too," Piper elicited, as Jason felt her grip around his hands tighten. "He's watching us, I'm sure of it."

Jason realized how stupid he was being. Of _course. _So that's why those swirly-clouds of doom appeared in the dreams that were occurring. It must have been Ouranos's subconscious, reaching out to anything it could get.

"Now, we need a plan of attack. The Fates aren't far, and a trap is waiting for us. A demented sky god is expecting us, and we're almost out of time with whatever's going down. Anyone have any ideas?" Calypso ventured.

"I have one," said Frank. "It's stupid, but it could work."

"Go ahead man. We've done worse," Jason stated, trying to lighten the mood.

"Okay, here goes-"

* * *

**Yeah, the cutoff is a little bit different. Leave it to your imagination! Next chapter, Seattle ho! **


	44. XLIV: Jason

***Chapter 45: Up on Saturday, May 23rd, by 10:00 PM, EST***

***Important Announcement***

**Well... 8 chapters left in Book One! I can't believe how incredible this journey has been, and I thank each and every one of you for supporting me! All this could not have been possible without this overwhelming support, so I thank you all! Book Two will be coming soon, but it will be near the end of the summer. I will be posting the first chapter on August 1, the anniversary of Gaea's defeat, and the conclusion of this book. **

**There are several reasons why. One, I have a flying camp the first week of June, which means no internet access. Second, I'm having wisdom teeth pulled out at the end of June. Then, there's Fourth of July celebrations in the states, and I fly back to the UK for a visit from July 10th to 24th (I'm half British, half American. I live in America, however). I'm taking the time between those busy events to write and plan out the next book, in order to get some ahead time, so posting can begin and no one will have to wait a long time for chapters! **

**Be viligant, and I thank you all for your patience! The TEASER will be up soon, however. Most likely a few days after this book is finished, so you guys have at least that to fawn over until August 1!**

***End of Important Announcement***

**Reviews**

**TotallyCray-Cray: Indeed... You'll see some of it here. Here's the next one for ya!**

**silverwolvesarecool: Thank you! Leo's kind of easy to write, since he just oozes awesomeness. It's really easy to make him shine by having him crack stupid jokes and light up a room. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**bris38: Hehe. I had fun writing those lines. Caleo = awesome. There may be a little bit more of them coming up in future chapters... ;).**

** .395: Thank you very much! Reviews such as yours really puts a smile on my face, and encourages me to strive to keep writing and getting better! From Day One of writing this book, it's been an incredible journey for me. I used to be a horrible writer, but my skills improve each and every chapter I make. I used to be able to do only 1,000 word chapters in one evening. Now, I can do 4,000-4,500 in one sitting if I'm motivated and the creative juices are flowing. This chapter sort of sets up the epic battle, which will be coming! I promise! Looking forward to your next review!**

**Court0624: You reviewed just as I was about to post this chapter! Good timing! Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this one!**

**billybobjoe: Well, here's what happens... Enjoy!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLIV: Jason**

**When the bombs started blowing**, **Jason knew that the plan was working.**

"One and two detonated, over, over," said Leo's voice, resonating out of the crystalline piece that Jason held in his palm.

Jason had to admit that the communication devices were genius. For some apparent reason, Leo had a few crystal chunks stored in one of Festus's compartments and decided to whip up several sound devices with those pieces. Calypso weaved some small magic in it- a small bit of the power she still had, and enabled voice communication to all the holders of the devices.

Gazing on the skyline of downtown Seattle, Jason knew that the final objective was finally in reach. After discussing the plan with Frank back in the hotel courtyard, everyone, including Jason, packed up for Seattle. Getting to the outskirts of Seattle was the easy part. Avoiding detection from the monsters and getting to the Space Needle was the hard part. In all honesty, the city wasn't too far away- probably ten minutes, thanks to a fire-breathing dragon and a magical horse that could break the sound barrier.

"Okay, red-two. Diversionary in place?" echoed Calypso's voice, through the crystalline device.

"Roger. Frank and I will try and get the Amazons' attention. They might be willing to help," Hazel replied. "We're nearing Fourth and Pine Street. Over."

"Hazel, gotcha. There's a couple dozen monsters heading in that direction, as far as I can see," Jason advised, while peering out of his binoculars and balancing the street map of Seattle in his lap.

Jason was convinced that this was a trap- Calypso was certainly right about that. Getting in the city itself was too easy, due to the fact that there weren't even any monsters or surprises waiting for him and his friends.

Jason remembered part of the plan they went over earlier.

_"Okay, Lou Ellen... You take the Northwest side of the Space Needle approach," Frank said. "Piper, you circle around on the East side, and tell me what you can see there. Leo, Calypso, you both need to rig a chain of bombs so we can get the attention of the captors. At the very least, we should be able to determine who they are, if they happen to respond. That, or some monsters will come after us."_

_"What about me? They're going to need some support and I can fly, you know?" Jason stated._

_"Right. You're our spotter. Just pick some random high building around and direct the teams. If any monsters are coming, then have us steer clear of them. Hazel and I will be taking an approach from the southwest. I'm sure we'll be able to at least determine what's happening here."_

Even back then, in the hotel courtyard, Jason had to marvel over how much Frank had grown. He still couldn't believe that the son of Mars had melded into the role of a praetor so easily. Frank had a stern face when explaining the plan, and Jason had to give him credit for that. In battle, letting down your mettle and guard could induce reluctance in your troops. Sure, they were all best friends here, but Jason was sure that Frank's soldierly duty could come first in this critical time.

Frank had once told him about the House of Hades- his father's voice echoing in his head. _At the break, you must take charge!_

Jason thought that Mars was a little bit overkill. But then again, Romans were generally overkill when it came to battle. Jason was just glad that he chose himself to be Greco-Roman, drawing the best qualities from both the Romans and the Greeks.

"Uh... Okay, so we're going to creep a little closer and set off the next device. Any other monsters incoming?" Calypso questioned, her voice cracking out of the crystalline piece.

Jason peered out of his binoculars again, and scanned the distant streets for any signs of monster activity. There was a large amount of them near the Space Needle, and a few squadrons were patrolling the nearby streets.

"If you continue the way you're going... Then uh, I think you'll be okay. Just be quick... Or else you'll get shish-kabobed," Jason advised, furrowing his eyebrows nervously.

Jason leaned over the edge of the brick building he was currently situated on top of, and gazed on the downtown Seattle skyline. What he saw next was extremely disturbing. The Space Needle was obviously dominant on the horizon, but Jason swore that the golden threads dangling from it weren't supposed to be there.

From what seemed like the observatory platform of the Space Needle, thick strands seemed to arch from its interior, reaching up to the clouds above it. To Jason, it seemed like the clouds were gripping the threads like strands from a puppet. Jason couldn't see anything from that far away, but if he had to guess, the Fates were somewhere inside that platform.

Even from afar, Jason could sense the extreme stirring and agitation of many wind spirits. There were probably hundreds of _venti_ and minor wind gods around the Space Needle, which was particularly odd.

"Bomb two, incoming! Boom-boom time!" Leo crowed, as a muffled _boom _ruffled through the streets, making Jason stumble a little bit.

"Leo! That was loud! Even I could feel that. How many explosives are you packing in those homemade devices?" Hazel questioned.

"Um... A couple kilograms of flecked celestial bronze and-"

"WHAT?!" Hazel retorted.

"Whoa, guys. Hold up. Uh... Leo, there's a squad of cyclopes heading in your direction," Jason said, squinting to an unruly squad of young cyclopes who were tripping and stumbling over themselves with their own clubs.

As that happened, Jason cursed whoever was the god of binoculars for doing this to him. Even though Leo had extended the lens, Jason still found it slightly difficult to even see through it, thanks to his glasses. Sure, it barely slotted in, but Jason was still peeved. It would be nice to have a 'fits-all' binocular for once.

"While you're having fun with that," Lou Ellen spoke up, speaking for the first time through the device, "there's a few shipping crates near my position. Now, I'm not being redundant here, but I'm pretty sure that HTK isn't a local business."

"HTK? Seems familiar to me," Jason shrugged.

"I have heard of it as well... And thanks for the heads-up. We'll keep it in mind," Calypso said.

"Whatever. I'm going to move in. Anyone have any recommendations?" Lou Ellen questioned.

"Not on my end, but if there are any Amazons patrolling, we should be getting their attention by now. It sure would be nice to have an army of battle-thirsty warriors helping us here," Hazel grumbled.

"I'm not too fond of them... Hazel, you know what happened last time," Frank interrupted, his voice overlapping with the daughter of Pluto.

"Shush now. That was fun," Hazel teased.

"Do you need the backup?" Jason questioned, peering over his shoulder.

Behind Jason, Festus the bronze dragon was happily snoring away on the aerie rooftop, clicking and creaking Morse code in his sleep. The dragon occasionally snorted out tendrils of flames, which provided some heat that Jason was grateful for. Even here, on the rooftop, the winds were acting up more than usual. For some odd reason, Jason was feeling incredible chills of frigidity every time a gust streaked through the rooftop.

"Negative. We'll work something out," Hazel replied.

"Well... Okay then. You guys stay safe. Leo, Calypso, just keep on with what you're doing. I think you're attracting a few monsters," Jason said.

A cacophony of yeses blasted through Jason's ears, as his friends disembarked the communication. Only Piper stayed silent, which worried him. He hoped that things were going okay with his fiancee. Besides, the only thing she had to do was to assess the situation.

Recalling the strategy plan with Frank, Jason had to ask what the battle plan would be if they winded up storming the Needle. Frank's reply was to wing it and try to provoke the Amazons. Jason didn't think that it was the best plan out there, but then again, it was basically blind sailing out here. Hopefully, someone could find a gap in the monster defenses and exploit it.

"Hey boy," Jason murmured, turning to Festus. "I guess we're all alone here, huh? We just gotta wait for everyone to take down the big, big, bad guys, huh?"

The dragon snored in response, making Jason sigh. Even then, he had to wonder if dragons could have dreams. If they did, Jason could imagine Festus skipping down a field of Tabasco sauce, yelling the words '_I feel so greasy!'. _

In hindsight, Jason was glad that Festus was here with him. Besides, it wasn't the best idea for a bronze dragon to go bursting down a street in downtown Seattle, so Leo had ordered Festus to stay behind and act as backup. Arion wasn't involved, since the horse had immediately ran off as soon as Hazel harried him in Seattle's streets. Jason was secretly glad about that. He hated that horse, and didn't want to repeat the experience with Arion that had scarred him for life.

Scanning the streets, Jason noticed something peculiar. There was an angry mob of mortals marching around, holding signs. Several cop cars were scattered around the mob, and some police officers were patrolling the sidewalks. Most of all, the whole wave of mortals seemed to be heading towards the Space Needle, which was definitely a problem.

The monsters in the distance looked at the mortals curiously, but made no move to stop them. The only thing that that happened was the increase of monsters guarding the direct entrance to the Space Needle.

Even from a distance, the Space Needle looked pretty. If it wasn't a symbolic feature of Doomsday: Take Sixty-Five, Jason would be tempted to visit it. The Needle was brazen with light shades of white, and steel trusses clambered up its six-hundred and five feet height. The downtown Seattle skyline was spread around it, seemingly as if a modern-day city was bowing down to the Needle itself.

As silence reigned, Jason thought about his position as _pontifex maximus._ He felt truly blessed to have the chance to honor all the gods, which they deserved. The bonus part of the job was the incredible amount of favors that most of them owed. In his heart, Jason knew that the quest was easier than expected because several gods took it upon themselves to fend off some trouble that would have put his friends in danger.

"Uh, Jason?" crackled the voice of Hazel. "Do you have a second?"

"Yeah, what's up? I'm not busy, if you're curious. I'm just watching Festus sleep... And doing nothing. Yeah, my schedule is clear."

"Good. Can you-"

Jason jerked around, hearing thumping footsteps coming from below. Suddenly, a half-dozen four-armed yellow men burst through the doorway, wielding swords in each of their dirty hands. Jason recognized those creatures as _loamae_, which Calypso mentioned gave her a lot of trouble.

"Aha! At last, son of Jupiter!" smiled one of the yellow men, stepping forward.

Festus opened one ruby eye, and snorted out gray smoke. The dragon looked ticked off by the sudden burst of monsters, and rose to his feet.

Jason rolled his eyes and turned back to the comm. "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

"What's going on back there?" Hazel questioned. "Nothing's wrong, is it?"

"Oh... Something will be wrong in a moment," Jason replied, with his voice turning dark.

"What are you-" began the _loamae_, as his voice faltered.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

**-With Frank and Hazel-**

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" Jason said, his voice crackling over the crystalline device.

Hazel shot Frank a look. "Why do I get the feeling he's been made?"

In response, a loud thrashing sound echoed across the communication channel, making Hazel wince in agony. Sounds of _'help me!' _and _'no! please!' _ reached Hazel's ears, making her scrunch her eyebrows in confusion.

"What the heck?" Frank stated.

"I-I have no idea," Hazel replied.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

**-Now-**

Well, that was easier than expected, Jason thought.

In front of Jason, a pile of unconscious _loamae_ lay groaning on the floor, twitching and muttering incoherent sounds.

Festus snorted, and blew a column of flames in the pile of _loamae, _instantly incinerating them into golden dust- sending them back to Tartarus.

Jason picked up the crystalline device, and took a deep breath. "So, what were you guys saying?"

"Um... Nothing. I think we're okay for the time being. We just gotta be careful here. I have no idea why the Amazons are being this silent- we are in their main city after all. Heck, the monsters are probably threatening their main distribution center, and I'm pretty sure they're still not happy with me stealing Arion," Hazel rambled.

Jason couldn't help but crack a smile. Reyna had shown him some footage several months ago that Hylla gave her, and it contained Hazel nabbing Arion out of a cage and hightailing it out of a warehouse, with Percy and Frank bumping along for the ride.

"Well... You just keep looking. You're bound to attract their attention sometime soon," Jason said.

"Or the Amazons could be plotting... Half this plan relied on them coming to our aid," Hazel replied.

"Eh. Fair point. Have any of you gotten in contact with Piper yet?"

"Oh, shoot..." Piper muttered, her worried voice evident over the crystalline device.

"Pipes? You okay over there?" Jason asked, his anxiety level rising.

"I think I just ran across a patrol of _dracanae_. Hang on, I may be a few minutes."

"You have your freeze-bad-people-to-death sword, right?" Jason questioned. He really liked that sword. More so since Piper was awesome at killing monsters with it.

"To quote Coach Hedge... DIEEEE!" responded the daughter of Aphrodite, as her line went silent.

Jason sent a quick prayer to Aphrodite that Piper would be fine. In his pocket, Jason had Piper's engagement ring, which he was holding on for safekeeping. He remembered the conversation he had with his fiancee not a half hour ago, just before the covert operation began.

_Piper slid the ring off her finger. "Jase, I want you to keep this safe for me, okay?"_

_"B-but it belongs on you. I can't think anything less," Jason muttered._

_"Jason... There's always the chance we won't make it out alive. I just want the ring to be safe here, if you ever find someone else someday..."_

_"There's nothing else but you, Pipes. I promise, we'll make it out of this."_

_Piper smiled. "I love you, Sparky."_

_"You too," Jason replied, as Piper arched up on her toes and gave him a light kiss._

As Jason shook himself out of the flashback, he couldn't help but be worried.

"She'll be okay, Jason," Hazel reassured.

Jason smiled. "Yeah, I can only hope that-"

_Boom!_

A sudden trembling of the ground nearly made Jason lose his balance. In front of him, the strands of golden thread from the Space Needle started glowing golden. Streaks of light rushed through the threads, blasting through the embracing clouds above. The clouds twisted and turned, almost as if it was consuming the streaks of light for a pre-dinner snack.

Almost as soon as the light-show started, it stopped. The cloud-vortex turned itself upwards, and suddenly spewed downwards again. A loud _belch_ rippled across the horizon as the weird vortex-thing seemed pleased with itself.

"What the heck was _that?_ It reminds me of my Aunt Delia's Thanksgiving habits..." Lou Ellen mused, as her end of the device network went active.

"I have no idea... And that did _not_ sound good... At all. It seems like the threads are feeding that vortex up there something..." Jason guessed.

Putting two and two together wasn't too hard for Jason. He had to guess that the strands could have possibly come from the loom of the Fates, feeding _whatever_ was up there. Jason had seen the strings of destiny that the Fates wove with, and he wasn't particularly eager to repeat the experience. The threaded strands closely resembled that destiny string, so Jason assumed that the Fates were being forced against their will to do whatever the heck was happening up in that observatory platform.

"Well, whatever's happening," Hazel jutted in, "we better hurry up and initiate the rescue already!"

"Um... That's going to take more manpower than we currently have. I don't think that's happening so easily, guys. Even from here, I can see hundreds... Maybe thousands of monsters. Great Jupiter, I even see two _kardoni _near the entrance," Jason shot back, taking another glance to the immediate area around the Space Needle.

Another rumble shook the streets, making Jason groan. He levitated himself several feet in the air, as Festus stomped the rooftop's concrete floor in protest.

The weird strands from the Space Needle started glowing again, and the familiar streaks of light shot up into the sky. Except, this time, the streaks of light were moving even faster. The strands shook and groaned, which made Jason cringe. Flashing hues of yellow energy buzzed around the Space Needle, thrumming across the Seattle skyline.

"Whoa... Dude. That's crazy stuff," said Frank's voice, pulsating through the crystal.

"Uh, Leo..." began Calypso, her voice radiating through the crystal device. "Is that girl with the black pantsuit supposed t-"

The communication cut off, as Jason heard nothing but crackling static on the other end.

"Guys? Leo? Calypso?" Jason fired, desperately listening for a sign of his friends.

"What happened? What's up with them?" Hazel chimed, with a worried tone in her voice.

"I-I don't know. Calypso said something about a girl in a black pantsuit, then the whole thing cut off," Jason explained.

"Oh... That's the Amazons then. They have this whole initiation thing where they blindfold you and lock up every guy in a jail. They'll be fine. I know Calypso can get the Amazons on our side," Hazel explained.

Jason's eyes widened. "They put dudes in jail?"

"I should know! They locked me up too! And it was NOT fun, for your information!" Frank chimed.

As the couple rambled on, Jason took another scan of the area with his binoculars.

Staring at a glowing projectile laying in the street several miles away, Jason's guard instantly kicked up. The projectile had suddenly appeared there without him knowing, which made Jason apprehensive. How can a flaming ball the size of a car randomly pop out of nowhere?

Jason noticed the ground under the projectile shift. Concrete started sinking into the ground, which should have been impossible. A melding form started rising from the ground, and Jason realized that the projectile was attached to whatever was coming up. Unfortunately, Jason realized just what the heck the flaming ball of doom was attached to- he recognized it from two years ago. The form of an onager rose in the street, and aimed its launching arm at Jason. Suddenly, the projectile launched upwards, almost as if it had been jump-kicked by a cable. A loud _weet_ sound hit Jason's ears, as he realized with horror that the comet was sailing straight for him.

"Oh, _Sch_-" he muttered, immediately jumping off the side of the building.

Behind Jason, Festus creaked in alarm, and extended his wings. The dragon took a running start, and glided off the building, as a massive explosion engulfed the sky, showering down an intense wave of heat.

* * *

**Hmm... Who's narrating next? Sorry about 'dem cliffhangers. It's going to happen!**


	45. XLV: Calypso

***Important Announcement***

**Hey guys! I know it's been a little while since the last update, but I was creating this chapter... Which is a whopper! Over 5,000 words, which makes this chapter the longest one to date! **

**Also, from here on out, the POV switches will start getting random. This is because I like to have a flow going on between battles, since I'm not fond of telling one epic battle from one standpoint. The dynamic flow is MUCH better if multiple people are narrating their version and where they are in the battle. I hope you all enjoy!**

***End of Important Announcement***

**Reviews:**

**silverwolvesarecool: Indeed, Festus having that dream would be sweet! This is one heck of a chapter, so enjoy!**

**lovedystopia: Thank you very much for the long review! You're very much right in those aspects, which I appreciate. I still marvel over how much my writing has improved from Day One of writing this book. I also have to agree that I did not feel that Blood of Olympus was an appropriate end to the series. There were too many questions left unanswered, and the battle was lackluster. I think Rick should have split BOO into two books- Part One, and Part Two. In my opinion, I don't think we should pin it all on him. He was basically forced to compress everything in one final book. He harped up too many things that had to be answered. He had to write the whole Athena Parthenos journey back to CHB, and the Seven's journey to Athens. He had to write the final battle, defeat of Gaea, etc, which of course, was compressed severely. He also harped up the concept of sacrifice, which was basically nonexistent in the book. Anyway, I'll shoot you a long PM later with my full response. I just don't want to clog up the top section with the long response... XD.**

**TideNightwalker: You read wrong. It's 8 chapters left. ;). Actually, 7 after this one. And yup, you must wait until August! Hey, it's not so bad. At least you don't have to wait a year, like the actual books... Man, I wish I could buy the copyright from Rick and publish this book... After all the edits, of course, since the first few chapters are really bad. Anyway, thanks! Hope you enjoy this whopper of a chapter!**

**Court0624: You were close with Leo. Here's what happens next, so enjoy!**

**bris38: Um... Gaea is long gone. Not sure where you got that idea. But anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

** : As for Percy and Annabeth... Remember, this series isn't all about them. ;). Besides, you have the first four chapters from Annabeth's POV, another four from Percy, and several of Reyna's chapters heavily involve them as well. Everyone eventually gets their moment to shine... so, patience! And thanks for the nice comment! I certainly try my best!**

**RedxLord: Thank you very much! I'll be sure to keep up the good work!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLV: Calypso**

**Being kidnapped by a tribe of bloodthirsty female warriors wasn't high up on Calypso's to-do list.**

"Remind me again why I'm in a jail?" Leo stated, rattling the bars in his cell.

"Shush. I think you should be worrying about me being tied up here! How did the Amazons even ambush us that close?" Calypso mused, straining against her binds.

Calypso knew that whoever kidnapped her and Leo was an Amazon. Hazel had certainly described them accurately, if the black pantsuits were anything to go by. What Calypso didn't get, however, was how the heck the Amazons even surprised her in the first place. Then again, they knew this city way better than she did. Calypso only hoped that the warrior tribe wasn't going to kill her- that would dampen the mood, as well as ruin the plans she made for the next sixty-five years of life, assuming that she lived.

Wherever they were, Calypso could tell that it was dark. The most she could figure was that they were in some sort of wooden, boarded-up room. The post she was tied to was attached right up to the ceiling, which was low and lanky. Floorboards creaked under Calypso's feet, while thin rays of sunshine glimmered under the boarded-up windows. Calypso couldn't help but ironically think about Leo's so-called nickname for her, _Sunshine,_ which was stupid.

Still, Calypso couldn't help but feel panicked. This confinement reminded her of her father's prison, which frightened her. Seeing Atlas again made her happy, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret seeing him trapped under the weight of the sky.

But, if what Atlas told her was true... then Calypso hoped that reinforcements would come.

"Right... Solid bars. I could flame this out with fire," Leo said, lighting up his right hand with flames.

Calypso sighed. "Leo... I love you, but you're an idiot. You used fire against the Amazons when they ambushed us! They know you're a fire user. Heck, they've probably put up some enchantments for all I know!"

Calypso remembered the ambush, which made her blood boil.

_Calypso breathed a sigh of relief, and clutched her crystalline communication device. Next to her, Leo was panting heavily, with a hammer in his hands._

_After barely avoiding a monster patrol on the next street over, Calypso was really starting to get annoyed. She and Leo still hadn't found a way to REALLY grab the attention of the monsters, despite the several bombs they detonated. No matter what happened, the patrols remained indifferent. Sure, a few made their way over to the detonation locations, but Calypso was immediately suspicious. Most monsters were idiots and would run for it. The hundreds... maybe thousands of monsters guarding the Space Needle must have been under orders to restrain themselves, certainly enough._

_Suddenly, a black flash darted across a nearby rooftop, catching Calypso's attention. Calypso gritted her teeth and clutched the crystalline device, preparing to call Jason and Festus for backup. She opened the communication channel with her mind, and prepared herself._

_Leo's eyes narrowed, and the son of Hephaestus lit up his hands with flames. He released several flames, trying to ward off whatever was following them._

_"Uh, Leo..." began Calypso, "is that girl with the black pantsuit supposed t-"_

_At that instant, Calypso felt a silver dart enter her left arm, and she stumbled to the ground in confusion. Leo gasped as another dart embedded itself in his neck, and the son of Hephaestus tried dragging himself to cover. Sadly, that failed, as Leo's eyes rolled up, and he crashed-face first into the asphalt pavement with a thud._

_Calypso groaned, trying to reach out for her boyfriend. The only thing she could muster was a bare crawl before black dots started dancing in her eyes. Calypso groaned and strained, until she felt her hand let go of the crystal device, and slipped into darkness._

If the Amazons had any decency, then Calypso wished that they wouldn't have tied her up to a post. That, and abandoning her and Leo in the middle of some abandoned house. Seriously, the place was a dump. If Calypso was a interior designer, then she would have put a splash of light blue on those horrible wooden walls.

The door banged open, making Leo jump. The son of Hephaestus extinguished his flames. Calypso merely rolled her eyes in response.

A girl who appeared to be six feet tall barged in, with two guards at her side. At first glance, the girl was obviously wearing a black pantsuit, and her honey-blonde hair dangled at her waist. Several daggers were entangled in her belt, and her eyes glinted a light-blue color. The girl looked like a stereotypical Californian, except her scowling gaze ruined the image. Calypso got an odd sense of _deja vu_, since Annabeth broke stereotypes too.

"Alright. The boss wants you. You've been processed and cleared. 'Cept for that _boy_ over there," spat the Amazon, regarding Leo.

"Whoa! Come on ladies, my awesomeness provides the shielding you so desperately need!" Leo gasped, straining his hands through the bars.

The Amazon shrugged, and pulled out a hunting knife. "Or I can disembowel you where you stand. Fair choice?"

"Uhm... I'll just stay here then. No need to threaten the great Leo!" Leo nervously chuckled, retreating to a corner of his prison.

"Hey! Only I get to threaten my boyfriend!" Calypso growled, struggling against her binds. "And I would _kindly_ appreciate it if you didn't kidnap us in the first place."

"Eh. We have protocols. More so since that whole horse-stealing incident and our scuffle with Orion two years back," shrugged the girl. "Besides, our leader has a penchant for doing those things now."

_Joy, _a sadistic Amazon, Calypso thought.

Calypso remembered the whole Orion incident several years ago. As a advocate for freedom of women, it broke her heart when Reyna described in detail on how Orion had singlehandedly massacred dozens of Amazons and Hunters. Calypso hoped that the giant was still rotting in Tartarus after all the trouble he had caused on the quest to return the Athena Parthenos.

"Anyway... Our leader requests your presence. Let's roll," said the head Amazon, while the two guards at her side shuffled uncomfortably.

"If that's going to happen... then would you mind letting me go now?" Calypso asked, nodding a head towards her binds.

"Er, alright. Could you lean to the right for a second?" said the Amazon, edging closer to Calypso.

Calypso rolled her eyes, and moved her body as best as she could to the left, while the pantsuit-clad lady cut through her binds. Calypso gritted her teeth, and restrained herself from kicking the girl right where it'll hurt all day long. But Calypso wasn't stupid- she knew that would just provoke the dozens of Amazon warriors who were probably hiding right outside the door.

"There! That should do it. And if you're wondering, my name is Kiera," said the girl. "At least you're cleared enough to know that."

"Big whoop," Calypso began, "I've been cleared to know the name of a grunt."

"Watch it," Kiera growled. "Or I can knock you off where you stand."

Calypso couldn't help but elicit a chuckle. "If I've been cleared by your all-powerful leader, then you and I both know that's not happening. Eons of living teaches me things... So I'm not stupid. Now, are we going to see your leader now, or am I going to drag you there myself?"

"Huh... Well, _she_ was right. You're no pushover," Kiera muttered.

"I won't be if you don't hurry up and get this whole meeting thing over with already. I'm running short on time, and we've got to rescue the Fates, if you haven't found out already," Calypso said, rubbing her now free hands.

"Oh, yes... We have trouble with the Needle too. All will be explained in due time," Kiera said, raising her hands.

"Cal! What about me?!" Leo gasped, waving his hands around. "You can't just leave me here!"

"Yes, we can... Per our leader's orders, you, _boy_, are to remain here until further notice." Kiera explained, motioning a hand to the two Amazon guards.

"Sorry, Leo. My hands are tied," Calypso sheepishly grinned. "I'll find out as much as I can, though."

"In the meantime, my nice two guards will keep you company," said Kiera. "Addie, Ingrid, keep an eye on him."

The two Amazon guards nodded and walked over to Leo's cell, taking up standard guard positions.

"Well? Are we going to see your leader or not?" Calypso questioned, as Kiera stood motionless for a moment.

Kiera nodded. "Right. Let's roll."

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Even though Calypso had seen many things in her eons-old lifetime, she had to admit that what she saw coming was breathtaking.

In front of her lay a large room, with its rafters stretching at least two dozen feet to the ceiling. The room was stocked with several dozen Amazons milling around, discussing battle plans around maps that were strewn on several tables.

Calypso thought that the entire enclosure was wood, since the whole kidnap-jail room was composed of those materials. This room proved her wrong, as concrete walls spangled up to the ceiling, and brightly-lit outdoor grade lights hung from the ceiling. The floor was also made of concrete, and it looked like it had been misused for years.

"It's not very impressive, I'll give you that. It's all we have since the split, anyway," Kiera said, shrugging and locking the door behind Calypso.

"Split? What are you talking about?" Calypso questioned, scrunching her eyebrows.

At least the Amazons were modest. If _this_ was the definition of 'not very impressive', then Calypso wondered just how big their main distribution center was. She read that it was tens of thousands of square feet large, from a mortal perspective. As for a godly perspective, Calypso suspected that there was more behind the scenes than the Amazons let on.

Kiera inclined her head. "I'll let our leader explain. Just keep moving."

"Reyna's sister, right? Hylla? That's her."

"That's right. Unfortunately, several circumstances prevent her from leading all the Amazons, as you shall soon see."

Calypso nervously edged to a metal table standing in the middle of the room, while several Amazon warriors looked at her with a mixture of disgust and approval.

Gazing in front of her, Calypso immediately got another sense of_ deja vu._ The woman standing at the head of the table looked just like Reyna, except for the fact she was older. The woman was wearing a camouflage leather jacket, cinched at the waist. She was wearing long, blank pants that were entwined with a golden labyrinthe belt. A deep scowl was furrowed across her face as she pointed at some geographical maps scattered around the table, which suspiciously looked like the area of Greater Seattle.

"I've brought her," Kiera said, skidding to a halt.

Hylla inclined her head, while Calypso felt a shudder ripple through her as the Amazon Queen gave her a curious stare. Well, Calypso assumed that it was Hylla. Reyna had described her well.

"Calypso, daughter of the Titans... I've heard much of you," Hylla said, crossing her arms.

"Likewise. Reyna's told me about you. I've also heard that you have a fetish for kidnapping people just for fun," Calypso retorted.

The corners of Hylla's lips curved upwards into a smile. "Come. We have much to discuss. Guards, fellow warriors, leave us."

With a grumble, the dozens of Amazons occupying the room, including Kiera, dispersed through several doors.

Soon, the room was empty, save for Calypso and Hylla.

"I think we should get down to business. I have a problem," Hylla said, with a worried look crossing her eyes.

"Tell me about it. Ever since we got in the city, your Amazons have been unusually silent, and that's not similar to what Hazel told me. Something's up, or else you wouldn't be cooped up in here thinking of a plan," said Calypso.

Hylla nodded. "It all started a week ago. It was business as usual in our main distribution center, when several of my warriors started acting... _strange. _Now, I don't claim if anything influenced them, but... long story short, we were all attacked. Half my warriors turned against me, attempting to rip apart anything they could find. I barely escaped with my life, but it wasn't easy to find anyone who wasn't a traitor."

Calypso's eyes widened. "This wasn't random, I'll give you that. What happened next?"

Hylla continued. "This base we're sitting in right now is one of my secret strongholds. It was all I could do to escape the clutches of my brethren with those who were still loyal to me. We escaped to here, where we've spent the last week gathering evidence and building up our strength. Even with my loyal followers and the other warriors I've managed to scrape out of the barrel, our strength is no more than fifty."

"With that number... No wonder you couldn't launch any major attacks. I'm going to guess you've entertained the possibility that the traitors are siding with the monsters... or whatever the heck is up at the Space Needle," Calypso mused.

"We've confirmed that. My sentries have seen a few defectors here and there with the monster crowd. No doubt they're waiting for us. But... now, with you seven here, we just might stand a chance."

"Wait... How do you know about my friends?"

"We may not be strong... But I certainly have enough sentries around the city to notice the progress all of you have been making."

"That's true enough... If Leo and I made all that racket with those bombs... Eh, at least we got your attention. Speaking of which, if half of your warriors stayed loyal to you... Then that brings up another question. Don't you have way more than a hundred warriors?"

Hylla frowned. "That's... ah... _another_ problem of ours. Two weeks before all this started happening, another incognito group was formed. We warded them off easily, but they claimed to have their own motives. I guess you could say that we Amazons are split into three factions, vying for control."

"B-but, _how?_ Last I heard, I'm pretty sure your Amazons were happy under your leadership."

"I thought they were," Hylla shrugged. "We still haven't been able to dig down the motives of the breakaway factions."

At that instant, Calypso knew that the entire thing was way more complicated than she originally thought. Ouranos was being _so_ trickily clever, manipulating anything he could get his hands on. Even though the primordial was nowhere near a form of actual consciousness, he could still exert a sphere of influence. The split of the Amazons... The events happening at the Space Needle... The confusion of the gods... The destruction with Eris that Jason told her about... The odd happenings of the mortals... Already, Ouranos was proving to be much more dangerous than Gaea, if so many things were hidden underneath those various activities.

"And with the monsters appearing... No wonder you've been unable to do anything!" Calypso exclaimed. "You need the absolute minimum of collateral damage to your remaining warriors, don't you?"

"I can't afford to lose any more warriors, yes. You're right about that," Hylla confirmed.

"Then we've got to think of something solid... You have your problems, and I have mine. Any other problems going on here?"

"Oh... There's another reason why my group is underground. If you would kindly follow me, I'll show you why," Hylla said, gesturing to a nearby trapdoor that Calypso didn't happen to notice until now. A rope ladder dangled from it, reminding Calypso of the time that she and Leo spent rope-climbing in Germany.

The Queen of the Amazons jogged over to the ladder at a blinding speed before Calypso could even think of anything to say.

As Hylla threw her hands around the ladder, Calypso noticed her turning back with a curious look on her face.

"Before we go up... Do you need the presence of Leo Valdez? Goodness knows he's been cooped up enough. Truth be told, I was just toying around with the whole jail thing."

"Eh. Actually, leave him in there for now."

Hylla raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why?"

"Gladly. Okay, so, maybe a month ago, Leo and I were in this restaurant in New Mexico. Long story short, he tricked me into smashing my face into a cream pie. Now, this is my revenge," Calypso grinned, evilly.

"_Boys,_" sighed Hylla. "They're idiots. Anyway, are you coming up?"

"As Drake once said... _Forward, ho!"_ Calypso stated, remembering her old love with a bitter heart.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Calypso didn't expect a blast of frigid air to greet her as she clambered up to the rooftop, with Hylla right behind her.

"T-this is freezing!" she chattered, rubbing her arms.

"It's been like that for days now," Hylla grumbled, locking the trapdoor below her.

Calypso turned around, and was immediately greeted by the sight of the Space Needle. The tower was still several miles away, but it was lined right up with the dinky rooftop. Two Amazon warriors stood guard along the edges of the creaking roof. If Calypso had to guess, the house-slash-base thing right here was supposed to be demolished many years ago, but obviously Hylla had furnished it into a secret base. Either that, or an observatory headquarters, since two girls in their twenties were stretched along the edge of the roof, with binoculars and spyglasses in their hands. A shimmering canopy glimmered over Calypso's head, which seemed to be some sort of camouflage.

At first glance, the two female warriors were standing on some sort of soapboxes near the edge of the roof. They were peering out of the spyglasses and binoculars they held, and they jotted down notes and observations on nearby notepads.

"There. That's our problem," Hylla said, pointing to the top of the Space Needle.

Even at this distance, Calypso still marveled over the golden threads dangling from the clouds, seemingly attached to the spire of the Needle itself. Earlier, Calypso had noticed the clouds, but now, they seemed _focused_ for some apparent reason.

An army of monsters was gathered at the base of the Needle, with numbers so many that Calypso couldn't count. Even from miles away, the swirling rage of _venti_, cyclopes, _dracanae_, and dozens of other kinds of monsters made Calypso's veins chill. There were easily _hundreds_ of monsters milling around. No, maybe _thousands_, if the street patrols were anything to go by.

_Boom! Boom!_

The ground heaved and shook, making Calypso's teeth chatter.

A light emerged from the golden strands, flashing and blasting out hues of gold so pure that it looked white. Calypso had to cover her eyes for an instant- the energy was incredibly blinding.

Hylla growled. "It started a few hours back, and it keeps increasing in intensity. At first, we didn't know what it was, but something's happening up in that tower. It all started with a few light tremors and flashes, but even now, this is basically on the level of a Richter-scale earthquake and being blinded in the face by a flashlight."

_BANG!_

A swirling vortex shot down from the clouds, connecting itself with the observation platform of the Space Needle. It churned and twisted, until it became as still as stone. The vortex consumed part of the Space Needle's observatory platform, almost as if something was growing from it.

The two sentries exclaimed in alarm, backing away slightly from the roof's edge.

"Okay... That's new. McKenzie, Lillia, keep an eye on that. Record that in our database," Hylla ordered, pacing up and down furiously.

Calypso couldn't help but feel a sinking sensation settling down to the very bottom of her stomach. No wonder her dad, Atlas, could sense such a stirring occurring within the area. Before the whole kidnap scenario, Calypso only saw a swirling funnel hovering over the Space Needle, but now, it seemed as if the funnel had a child and the child attached itself to the Space Needle directly.

"Hylla... Since we're here, we don't have a choice. We NEED to break through the Space Needle. Whatever's happening up there... I don't think it's going to end well for the Fates," Calypso advised.

"What do you think I've been doing for the last week?! I've been trying to work something out without incurring the wrath of our other rival factions!" growled the Queen of the Amazons.

"Then let's combine! I have my friends out there, looking for a way through. Actually... Can I have my communication device back? That was the only way to patch through to them..." Calypso muttered, rubbing her chin. "If we could smash through those legions of monsters and rush our way up the Needle... Then maybe we could gain the element of surprise."

The Queen of the Amazons blinked. "You mean this device?"

Hylla fished out a familiar crystalline shape from her pocket, and Calypso felt a surge of hope course through her veins.

"Yeah! That's it!" Calypso exclaimed.

Hylla shrugged, and handed over the crystal device. Calypso sighed with relief as she felt the familiar smoothness of the crystal relax itself on her palm. With a deep breath, she clicked on a small crevice on the edge of the crystal, and began speaking.

"O-okay... Is anyone there? Anyone still out there?" Calypso questioned, praying that some of her friends were still active on the line.

"Hey! Calypso!" chimed Hazel's voice, resonating out of the device. "I've been worried sick! You haven't picked up for hours! Are the Amazons treating you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah, Leo and I are fine. Listen, there's too much to explain. The Amazons have split up in three factions... And Hylla's is the only one willing to help us out."

"Whoa... Since when did they get _that_ out of control?" Hazel asked. "And a nice _how are you doing_ would help!"

Calypso blushed. "Sorry. How are you doing?"

"Good. Frank and I are still holed up on Pine Street. We just avoided another patrol, but the worrying thing is that I still haven't been able to get a hold of Jason, Piper, or Lou Ellen."

"Dear Atlas... I hope they're okay..." Calypso muttered.

"Hazel Levesque?" Hylla voiced, leaning closer to Calypso.

"H-Hylla?" Hazel stammered. "Um... Long time, no see?"

Hylla smiled. "I believe you owe me a horse."

Calypso chuckled at that. Hazel had told her the entire story of how she stole Arion from this very city. Perhaps that was why the horse ran off- Arion still had bad memories regarding the city. Either that, or the creepy cloud-swirling thing visible from the city outskirts spooked him off. Besides, Arion deserved a rest. The horse was constantly shuttling Hazel and her group all the way from New Athens to Seattle, minus all the 'accidents' that happened along the way.

"Right... About that... Uh-" Hazel began.

"Relax. You've proved yourself much more useful to Arion than we Amazons could offer," said the Queen of the Amazons.

"Nice to know... Anyway, what are you guys up to?" asked Hazel.

"Plotting on how to defeat the monsters and free the city, basically. Hylla's short on warriors, though," Calypso explained.

Calypso remembered what her father, Atlas, said once.

_"A war is never won alone. Never despair, dear Calypso. The gods may threaten us, but the might of the Titans will pummel them to the ground! Even so, our allies gather. Koios and Hyperion have settled their differences. A war is made by the very things that bind us together. Whether we stand or fall, it must be done with our family. Never ever, can you hope to do things alone. I've tried, and it did not end well for me. NEVER give up, and never despair!"_

Calypso had no idea why she thought that just now. She supposed that it had to do something with what was happening. A war couldn't be won alone, and whether Hylla had enough warriors or not, they would fight together.

"Hmm... Okay. You have any ideas what to do next? We're kind of stalled here, since we can't get a hold of Jason," Hazel said.

"Uhm... My queen? You better take a look at this," said one of the Amazon sentries, stepping down from a soapbox.

Hylla growled. "What is it now?"

The Queen of the Amazons brushed Calypso aside, and clambered to the top of the soapbox. Hylla's scowling gaze turned into a worried one, which made Calypso nervous. She had heard about Hylla's battle prowess from Reyna, and if a person who sandwiched Orion to a wall with an old Chevy could get jittery, then whatever was out there was not good.

"Calypso, come here... We have a problem," Hylla said, clutching a spyglass.

Calypso ventured to the edge of the roof, and the Queen of the Amazons handed her the spyglass. If the entire world didn't revolve around the gods, then Calypso felt like she would question the use of a spyglass. Calypso held it up to her eyes, and what she saw next made her heart sink.

In front of Calypso, an army of monsters were marching down the street with their banners held high. From Calypso's position, every single one of the seven-hundred-ish monsters were arrayed in a battle formation resembling Reyna's Twelfth Legion's battle stance. Obviously, someone must have tipped off the monster army about Hylla's secret compound, or else they wouldn't be marching over there with a hungry look on their faces. Calypso wasn't eager to become a Titanly snack, if the time she spent in Romania was anything to go by.

"I-is everything okay on the other end?" Hazel's voice crackled, as Calypso, Hylla, and the two sentries held a silence of awe.

"Um... Hazel. We might have an opening here. Could you come to..." Calypso faltered.

She turned to Hylla. "Where are we, again?"

"Fifth Avenue North, just follow the northbound route from the Flying Fish Market. You're near there if you're on Pine Street," explained the Queen of the Amazons, speaking clearly to the crystalline device.

"Right... What are we suppose to look for, again?" Hazel asked.

"Fifty Amazons, one Calypso, and one Leo all fighting to the death," Hylla said, with a grin spreading across her face.

Calypso couldn't help but throw on a smile as well. "I'm going to go ahead and assume that we're just going to charge in there like banshees, and Hazel and Frank come in for surprise reinforcements later?"

"You read my mind," retorted the Queen of the Amazons.

"Best shot we got. I'm still worried about Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen, though. Have there been any word on them?"

Hylla shrugged. "If there's been anything, then my sentries haven't raised an alarm."

In her heart, Calypso knew that Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen would have to wait. The Fates were top priority right now, and if the disturbance around the Space Needle was anything to go by, whatever was going to happen was going to occur very soon.

"Okay, Hazel, Frank you got all that, right?" Calypso asked.

"Yup! We'll try and back-track down there as soon as we can. Providing we don't run into any other monster patrols, that is," Hazel responded.

"Alright. I'm turning the comm off. Good luck, and stay safe!" said Calypso, clicking down on a small mechanism within the device.

"Well, there's something to fight for, at last..." said the Queen of the Amazons, turning to her two sentries, who were observing the approaching monster army.

"Lillia! Raise the alarm, and free Leo, please," Hylla ordered, fishing out a key from her pocket, and tossing it to the surprised Amazon sentry.

"So... It's time, my queen? Shall I unlock the armory?" Lillia questioned, sprinting over to the trapdoor.

"You go and do that. Also... please retrieve Calypso's knife from our vault."

At that moment, Calypso realized that her knife wasn't on her. She patted her jeans, and mentally smacked herself. Of _course_ the Amazons would remove weapons whenever they happened to feel like kidnapping people.

Lillia nodded, and clambered down the trapdoor into the compound below. McKenzie also followed, almost as if Hylla was sending her a silent order. Together, both Amazon warriors descended below, leaving Calypso and Hylla alone on the rickety rooftop.

Loud growls emerged from the incoming monster army, echoing across the street. Even from a distance, Calypso could feel some _sort_ of power radiating from the head of the group, almost as if there was something incredibly powerful.

Hylla unsheathed two large hunting knives from her belt. "You ready for this?"

Calypso cracked her knuckles. "Heck, yeah. We'll screw over those monsters, rescue the Fates, and clear the city. Piece of cake, right?"

"If only we could hope..." sighed Hylla, as the cacophony of monster cries radiated through the street, getting closer and closer.

Calypso gritted her teeth as a wailing klaxon alarm vibrated throughout Hylla's compound stronghold. She could hear the shouts of several Amazons vibrating under the roof, as they starting gearing up for battle.

Well... stuff's going to go down, and it ain't going to be pretty, Calypso thought.

* * *

**Huge chapter, wasn't it? Get excited for the next one! Remember to review, favorite, and follow!**


	46. XLVI: Reyna

**Heyo guys! Here's the next chapter for ya! Like I said, stuff will be switching back and forth, since we only have 6 chapters left, and the final battle in this book is finally happening, if you've seen last chapter! Enjoy this chapter, and thank you all for all these reviews, follows, and favorites! This story has been getting more and more popular the closer I get to the last chapter... So thank you all for your support! Enjoy this chapter! It's 4,000+ words!**

**Reviews**

**silverwolvesarecool: Indeed! Here's the next update for ya! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**robinkunz395: It's fine! I hope that you enjoyed your prom! What sort of theme was it? Anyway, I'm pleased that you're enjoying my story so much! It means a lot to me that some people out there really understand the kind of dedication and time I put into the fandom and this new universe after Blood of Olympus. As for severe cliffhangers, there are already more than enough. ;). I can't keep stacking cliffhangers all the time, or else it gets boring. There are plenty, though. Such as Annabeth getting shot by an arrow... And yes, I did do a 'Frank swoops from the sky' cliffhanger in one of the earlier chapters. As for Hylla, no, she does not know that Ouranos is the enemy. You'll find out what happens in her mind soon, though. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**TideNightwalker: Indeed! We take a small break from Seattle here, so rest assured! But, unfortunately... much of the city will be trashed. As in... totally trashed. You'll see why soon... and I won't say if it's good or bad... ;). Enjoy this chapter!**

**Court0624: Indeed! Well, here's what happens next!**

**bris38: You'll find out eventually. ;). Enjoy this chapter!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLVI: Reyna**

**Seeing Orion again hit Reyna like a ton of bricks.**

"Do my eyes deceive me, praetor? Have I... rendered you speechless?" gasped the giant, in a mocking stature.

"Orion..." Reyna blurted.

Reyna couldn't think of any other word to say besides _Orion._ It was as if her mind was set on a rewind tape, designed to replay the memories of the giant Orion over and over again. The Amazons... The Hunters... All the fallen, murdered by the giant. Reyna was unsure if she could _ever_ let go of what had happened two years prior. Orion had caused too much damage- too many memories scarred and crested over the years.

Now, he had re-risen from Tartarus once more, and Reyna had no idea how.

"You should be dead," Nico began, "A monster like you... you can't possibly reform from Tartarus that early."

Orion inclined his head. "Ah, the son of Hades. I believe that we never properly greeted each other last time, as I was... ah, _indisposed._ Allow me to introduce myself. I am Orion, son of Gaea, bane of Artemis and Apollo!"

To Reyna, the giant looked gleefully happy, if a bloodthirsty woman-killer could be anything like that. Orion's bow hung at his side, and the giant was grinning devilishly. His bronze eyeballs spun and whirred back and forth with lasers emanating from it, flickering from Reyna to Percy to Nico every so often. Orion looked as if he had a tremendous weight lifted off his shoulders, which made Reyna's blood chill.

"Blah, blah... whatever. Just answer my question- _how_ did you reform from Tartarus so soon?" Nico ventured.

The giant narrowed his mechanical eyes- whirring and clacking in bronze sockets. "I have my ways, son of Hades. It took much difficulty, persuasion, and magic... but here I am, at long last! The details of my re-rising are not relevant... Besides, you will die today! It matters not!"

Reyna took a sideways glance at the fallen Leila, which made her blood boil. The daughter of Ceres was pale and lifeless, with the white of her skin steadily growing more prominent as each second ticked by. Reyna had to ruefully curse the gods- if Hephaestus hadn't teleported half of New Rome back here a week earlier, then Leila might not have had to die. But Reyna knew that even the gods couldn't predict such an event happening.

"You monster..." Percy growled, clutching his fists.

Orion chuckled. "Ah, the famous Percy Jackson! Polybotes described to me in detail on how eager he was to kill you! It's a shame that the upstart, Jason Grace, had to dispose of him rather earlier than planned."

"Enough is enough, _giant,_" Reyna spat. "Why have you come to attack this city? What purpose does it serve?"

"Ah... My new master is quite very particular in his orders. Besides, he provided me an opportunity for _revenge..." _smiled the giant. "More particularly, revenge against you, my dear Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano."

"Never. Ever. Use. My. Full. Name," Reyna enunciated, clutching her teeth together.

In her heart, Reyna knew that if she was right, Orion wouldn't be as easy to defeat as last time. But still, she had to try. She had to attempt to defeat the giant and his forces, if the stampeding cries of monsters on the horizon was anything to go by. But there were no gods, so how could the giant be defeated? If this was New Rome, then Terminus could assist without batting a stone eye.

Orion began to speak in a smug voice, but Percy stepped in to interrupt.

"This master... It's Ouranos, isn't it?" Percy guessed, taking a step forward.

"Ah... Smarter than most people give you credit for, Percy Jackson. Of course! Did you not notice your oracle's warning this morning? Shame. My master was being awfully polite by forewarning an assault..." Orion mused, turning his attention to the son of Poseidon.

"Rachel... The glowing blue eyes... The whole 'you will die' thing..." Percy muttered, seemingly as if he was connecting the dots.

Reyna didn't know Rachel well, but even she had to admit the whole possessive thing this morning was creepy. Rachel had spent most of last summer reconstructing some forms of the Sibylline Books with Ella the harpy. There wasn't any progress made, disappointingly enough, which is why the oracle was back in New Athens for the summer. Ella the harpy was off somewhere, which Reyna was thankful for. The harpy was demanding enough with the cinnamon as it was already.

"Aha! Very good, Percy Jackson!" exclaimed the giant, interrupting Reyna out of her thoughts. "You are indeed smarter than most other people would give you credit for. Tell me, how was your little trek across Tartarus? Did you enjoy that thoroughly?"

"You. Shut. It!" Percy growled, clenching his fists together. "Tartarus is no teasing matter, you idiot!"

"Of course, of course... He is my father, after all..." mused the giant, carefully testing his bow.

"Your legion... You have four or five cohorts here, don't you?" Nico hissed in a whisper, taking advantage of Orion's current interest in Percy. "You've got to get to them. If there's a monster army here, then we've got to rally together."

"Don't you think I know that?!" Reyna spat back.

Reyna knew that she had to reach her cohorts _somehow._ If monsters were attacking the city and Camp Half-Blood, like Orion said... and the obvious growling sounds in the distance, then the cohorts had to rally together. With Frank gone, Reyna knew that she was the only one around qualified to lead the cohorts. The strength in numbers would be useful, especially if Camp Half-Blood's forces could get in the fray...

"Ah, enough with that now," the giant said, causing Nico to take a step backwards.

Orion refocused his gaze on Reyna, making her feel rage. Reyna always tried to keep herself calm and composed, but there was something about the giant that invoked anger in her. She couldn't help but visualize moments of strangling the giant to death, which _did_ happen last time. Sadly, there didn't seem to be any gods around, and Reyna didn't feel the presence of any, either.

"Well? Anything else to say, Orion?" Reyna quipped, raising an eyebrow to appear as casual as possible.

"Oh, yes. I will have my little fun with you, praetor," growled the giant.

A _pitter patter _sound reached Reyna's ears as the shanty rooftops of several shops creaked and groaned. Suddenly, several dozen wolves leaped out of the air, landing onto the ground with various howls. Black, white, gray... it didn't matter. To Reyna, all the wolves did was stir up bad memories from two years ago. Evora... San Juan... The chase across Europe...

"Whoa!" Percy exclaimed, as the wolves made a semicircle, behind Reyna and her friends. Orion stood at the front, blocking the only other route of escape.

"I'll take the wolves... You deal with Orion," Percy said, extending out Riptide from his jeans pocket.

"Ditto," Nico retorted, bringing out his Stygian iron sword and pointing it at the howling wolves.

"Sounds like a good plan to me..." Reyna said. "Oh, if any of you guys happen to die early, do you mind putting in a good word for me in the Underworld or something?"

Reyna attempted lightening up the situation, but it was pointless. Dealing with Orion was going to be hard enough, and she didn't particularly feel up to the task. The giant stirred bad memories... And Reyna knew that attending school earlier that day was a bad idea, since she had spotted a pair of familiar headlamp eyes near the front lawn of the building.

Orion cackled. "Oh, how you delay your deaths, my friends. I will raze this city to the ground, and you will be powerless to stop it so!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Reyna growled, taking a sprinting start towards the giant.

Orion faltered for a second, probably comprehending on whether Reyna was actually stupid enough to attack him head-on. Sadly, Reyna knew there wasn't really any other option. Behind her, Percy and Nico elicited several battle cries as they engaged the wolves.

Orion quickly nocked an arrow, and fired it at Reyna. With a cry, the praetor swept her _aegis_ cloak forward, deflecting the arrow's firing range.

The giant howled in rage, and unsheathed a hunting knife, seeing that using a bow and arrow at this point-blank range was probably going to be useless. Reyna had to thank Athena greatly for her gift- the _aegis_ was proving incredibly useful.

Reyna pulled out her imperial gold sword, and ran to intercept the giant's hunting knife.

_SWANG!_

The sound of metal on metal rang throughout the streets of New Athens as Reyna felt her sword impact with Orion's four-foot long hunting knife. The giant pressed down, trying to gain the advantage through strength.

Reyna growled, and planted a firm foothold on the cobblestone street- attempting to gain some leverage over Orion. The giant appeared to be winning the strength war, since... well, he was seven feet tall and happened to have a godly amount of strength.

Reyna flipped her sword over and backed away, letting the sudden absence of weight come toppling down on Orion. The giant stumbled, and Reyna sliced her sword forward, opening a gash on Orion's left bicep.

"GWAHHHHHHHHHHH!" roared the giant, shearing his hunting knife upwards.

Reyna barely ducked as the blade missed her head by an inch. Either Orion had been lacking in practice since he returned from Tartarus, or Reyna had been working on her swordsmanship skills; the praetor knew that she had a slight advantage over the giant when it came to swords or really big hunting knives.

Orion looked at Reyna with a murderous look on his face, as the gash on his leg healed up instantly.

Huh, that's new, Reyna thought.

Orion roared, and charged Reyna once more. Reyna ran to intercept the coming blow, and leaped several feet in the air. Unfortunately, the giant anticipated the move, and Reyna had to push herself back several feet in order to narrowly miss the breeze of a hunting knife.

As Reyna drifted back down to the ground, she felt herself be tank-walled by Orion himself as the giant slammed his body into her. Reyna screamed as her back impacted the ground, and the giant swung around- his hunting knife in hand.

"DIE!" howled the giant, swinging his hunting knife downwards.

Reyna closed her eyes, bracing for the impact that never came.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"TAKE THIS!" bellowed a new voice, as Reyna opened her eyelids.

In her peripheral vision, she could see the shimmering blond form of Annabeth swinging her drakon bone sword upwards, making an impact with the giant's headlamp eyes.

"OWWWWWWW!" Orion screamed, clutching his bronze eyeballs in agony.

"Nice move, Chase!" Reyna grinned, elated to see her old friend in action.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood! Some _dracanae_ decided to interrupt my sketch of Hemera's shrine! So... I decided to pay you all a little visit!" Annabeth exclaimed, doing a tuck-roll and taking up a battle stance right next to Reyna. "It took me a little while to find you guys, but I just followed the crazy pack of wolves!"

"MY EYES! I CANNOT SEE!" wailed the giant, stumbling around. "REBOOT! REBOOT!"

Even though Annabeth's sword didn't cut the giant's eyes off, Reyna could clearly see sparks jittering out of Orion's main focusing rings, as the giant clutched his military-grade eyes. His headlamp-intensity lights fizzled and dimmed, until no light came out at all. It was almost as if someone had switched the 'off' button on a light switch, rendering Orion unable to see.

_"Vision compromised. Enacting emergency procedure repair," _echoed a voice, seeming as if it was radiating from the giant's military-grade eyes.

"Okay... That's new," Reyna muttered, backing away slightly from the giant.

Behind her, Percy and Nico were still warding off swarms of wolves, and the wave of those horrible canines didn't seem to be ending.

"HEY! STUPID MUTT! OVER HERE!" Percy screamed, doing a somersault over Nico and swinging Riptide at a leaping wolf.

"So... Why is that a new thing?" Annabeth asked, jarring Reyna out of her observation.

"Um... Last time, I was pretty sure that he didn't have a reboot option..." Reyna muttered, as the giant composed himself.

The sparking hues of electricity radiating from Orion's eyes slowed, and the giant's dim eyeballs started to flicker again. The focusing rings embroidered around the sides made a horrible grinding noise as they attempted to rotate themselves. Slowly, but surely, Orion's eyes began glowing back to its normal intensity, and the whirring clacks and creaks from the focusing rings grew in intensity until the gears began moving again- all under the course of ten seconds flat.

"Ah... Much better..." Orion muttered. "Like that feature, eh? The last encounter with the Hunters has taught me much."

"Clever giant... Attacking when Artemis ordered the Hunters out of town..." Annabeth said, slowly circling her drakon sword around.

"STUPID DOGS!" screamed Nico, his voice radiating through Reyna's ears.

"And that... Okay... Weird," Annabeth stated, taking a quick look at Percy and Nico, who were still fending off the seemingly endless wave of extremely oversized kill-you-at-first-sight wolves.

"Come on, Rey. I'll circle around him. Together, we can do this," Annabeth muttered, edging away from Reyna to create a semicircle around Orion.

"NO! Annabeth, bad idea! You don't-" Reyna began, as Orion drew out his bow in the flash of an eye, and aimed it at the daughter of Athena.

"Why must you make it so easy?" sighed the giant, as Annabeth froze in her tracks.

"Annabeth... That was _idiotic_," Reyna hissed. "_Estupido!_ I can't protect you from his arrows if you're so far away from my _aegis!_"

The daughter of Athena's face paled. "Uh... Sorry?"

Orion chuckled. "Ah, perfect. As for the first stroke of revenge against yourself, praetor, this one will die first."

Out of the corner of her eye, Reyna saw Percy's face pale, as the son of Poseidon registered Orion's words. Nico was now fending off the waves of wolves by himself- stabbing, slashing, and occasionally sucking a wolf into a shadow.

Reyna was _so _frustrated at the helplessness of the situation. There were no Hunters- Artemis had ordered them away days ago. Orion couldn't be stopped before he unleashed an arrow on a hapless Annabeth. The giant had no rivals at the bow, except for Artemis and Apollo, both of which were on Olympus as ordered by Lord Jupiter, thanks to his paranoia about being punished by the Fates.

"Oh yes... Percy Jackson!" Orion boomed, interrupting the shocked silence. "I wouldn't want you to miss the death of your intended! Come!"

The son of Poseidon edged closer to Reyna, sending a silent look towards Nico to continue fighting. Reyna made eye-contact with Annabeth and Percy- a thought brewing in her mind. If she could get Orion to talk and buy time... A messenger would be coming along if the cohorts needed orders. Then, Reyna knew that she would be able to strike.

"You know, Orion. I still don't understand what brings you here. You'll lose in the end, anyway. What is there to gain?" Reyna asked, trying to buy time.

The giant blinked. "Ah, still trying to pull that trick from last time? When will you learn... praetor?"

"Nah. You know, I'm just assuming that something big is going down. Besides, what kind of person is able to raise an army of monsters, plus you, in such a short amount of time? There's another goal behind this, isn't there?" Reyna questioned.

Orion moistened his lips. "Tsk. Since your death is inevitable, there is no harm in telling. Besides, your beloved friends in Seattle are walking into a death trap. I believe that my master coined the phrase as 'killing two birds with one stone'. My master has promised me control of this monster army, under one condition of which you do not need to know. My main goal here is to _break_ you, praetor... to make you suffer for the victory you robbed me of two years ago!"

Reyna's heart nearly leaped out of her throat. All of her friends in Seattle... including Calypso, could be facing death. For once, Reyna prayed to her mother that Hylla would somehow be able to help, thanks to the Amazon headquarters that was so conveniently located over there. Also, Reyna knew that her suspicions were confirmed. Orion wanted revenge badly, something that could play to an advantage.

"Prae-" began a voice, as the recognizable sight of a Roman messenger came into Reyna's view on the opposite side of the street.

Orion shot a look of confusion at the newcomer, which made Reyna's heart leap in joy. She grunted and began running towards the momentarily confused giant, stretching out her_ aegis _into a lasso-style whip. Next to her, Percy and Annabeth bolted for the giant, holding their swords up high.

Orion jumped- startled by the sudden rush. The giant nocked an arrow at Annabeth and drew it back, but Reyna reached the giant first- flicking her makeshift _aegis_ lasso across the giant's neck.

"AAAAAGHHHHHH!" Orion screamed, clutching his neck. "THAT HURTS!"

At that instant, Percy and Annabeth swiped their swords in an arc, slashing across the giant's chest.

"AAAAAAAAAGOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW!" shrieked the giant, jerking out two large hunting knives, making Percy and Annabeth back away.

The gashes on Orion's chest healed nearly instantly, and the red mark across the giant's neck that Reyna caused with her _aegis_ disappeared.

"FOOLS!" roared the giant, slamming his right foot onto the cobblestone street. "THERE ARE NO GODS! YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME!"

The impeding shockwave from the giant's stomp threw Reyna into a nearby column, and Percy and Annabeth toppled over near a rose bush. The surprised Roman messenger flew backwards into a nearby pretzel shop, which made Reyna remind herself to pull out her insurance card later.

"We may not be able to defeat you now, giant..." Reyna groaned, struggling to her feet. "But there are other ways... And that begins with your army."

Orion elicited a confused look. "To... what are you referring?"

Reyna glanced over to Percy and Annabeth, who were giving her silent looks of agreement. By now, Reyna was so attuned to their senses that it was practically a telepathic communication. The signal earlier had worked, so Reyna assumed that Percy and Annabeth knew what she was going to do.

"HEY!" Percy bellowed, confirming Reyna's hopes. The son of Poseidon leaped up and chucked Riptide at Orion, hitting the giant in the face.

"GAAAAH!" roared the giant, fumbling for Riptide, which had its hilt buried in his neck.

"Go!" Annabeth exclaimed, struggling up from the ground and charging the giant.

Reyna nodded, and began sprinting for the Roman messenger that crashed into the pretzel shop. She passed a struggling Nico, who gave her a look of reassurance. The son of Hades was still holding off the wolves, and it appeared that he was starting to gain the advantage.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"Tyler! Tyler!" Reyna muttered, shaking the groaning messenger.

As Tyler regained consciousness, Reyna gazed around the ruined pretzel shop. The entire front window was shattered, courtesy of Orion's shockwave. The light-brown walls were tattered with waves of dirt and broken cobblestones, and the entire pretzel counter was trashed- dough was splattered all over the floor. Tyler began moaning, which got Reyna's attention.

"W-wha?" stuttered the demigod, who happened to be a child of Mercury.

"Tyler, get up! And... thanks. You gave me the opportunity I needed to get away from Orion. What news of the cohorts?" Reyna questioned, pulling the son of Mercury to his feet.

"Um... No problem, praetor? As for the cohorts... Centurion Danzing sent me to intercept you. The bulk of our forces are holed up at the strawberry fields, and several of the Greek cabins are rushing in to join the fight. We request your presence, praetor!" stammered the messenger, raising his hand to form the Roman salute.

"Likewise," Reyna said, returning the salute. "Quickly. I don't know how long Percy and Annabeth can contain Orion. I don't know how long Nico can hold off the wolves either. We need to move."

"DIE, PRAETOR!" roared said giant, as Reyna turned around.

Orion looked angry, and there were multiple gashes and cuts around his body. Orion sprinted for Reyna, but a massive water fist rose from a nearby fountain, and grabbed the giant by the legs.

"NOOO!" cried the giant, thrashing and twisting around as Percy came into view, with his eyes closed in deep concentration.

Next to the son of Poseidon, Annabeth sauntered nearby, carrying her drakon bone sword. "Reyna, go! We'll hold him off!"

"I'll keep the wolves at bay!" Nico roared, as the son of Hades sprinted down a nearby sidewalk- dozens of wolves nipping at his heels. "Just do what you need to do to defeat the others! Then Orion should be easy meat!"

"I AM NOT-" began the giant.

Percy grunted in concentration, and a water muzzle began forming itself over the giant's mouth.

"MMMPPFF! MMMPPPF!" Orion howled, as fractures began forming around Percy's homemade water prison. The son of Poseidon started turning pale- withstanding the strength of a giant was no easy feat.

"Come on, praetor! I'll take you to the others!" Tyler exclaimed, waving his hands.

The messenger set off for the nearby street junction, and Reyna followed him. A sick feeling entered her stomach as she realized that this was a replay of two years ago- people holding off Orion long enough for her to escape. Explosions ensued behind the praetor, and Reyna could faintly hear the sounds of Orion screaming in rage.

"I WILL FIND YOU, PRAETOR! I WILL HUNT YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH! I WILL- MMMPPFF!" groaned the giant, his voice booming even from afar.

A pang of pain wormed its way into Reyna's heart, even though she wasn't sure why. The one thing Reyna did know, however, was that there was no closure. Orion was thought to be gone, an old memory. Now, the giant was back, and he would be haunting her dreams. Worst of all, he promised that there would be no rest until she was dead. The very thought made Reyna want to throw up- a giant personally bent and focused on her, only.

Reyna now felt even more sick. She thought that Orion would be even more difficult to beat this time, but the giant was incredibly easy, almost as if he was holding something back. Sure, the plan worked great, but Reyna had a gut feeling that Orion let it slide. But why?

"T-this way, praetor," Tyler stuttered, sliding into another street that Reyna recognized as a shortcut to the strawberry fields.

The shouts of Latin curses reached Reyna's ears, as the cries of her fellow cohorts were scrambled and disoriented in the wind. Loud Greek dialect was also present, so Reyna had to guess that most of the Greek cabins were also arming up. Not only that, but the dreaded sounds of monsters rumbled in the breeze, shouting out confused orders in monster-speak that Reyna didn't even know. Whatever was happening down there was bad.

As Reyna charged into battle, she could think of nothing but _Orion. _

_Orion. Orion. Orion. Orion. Orion. Orion. Orion. Orion... _And he was coming.

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**This was a very swag chapter to write... I hope you guys enjoyed! 6 chapters left until we close Book One...**


	47. XLVII: Frank

***Important Annoucement***

**Phew! At last, the super-awesome-swag battle is here, at long last! I want you guys to read this, and tell me if you thought that it was awesome! This is only part one of the epic battle, so rest assured! Heck, this battle seems longer than Rick even wrote in the Blood of Olympus, which shocks me. It would be kindly appreciated if you chimed in with reviews on how you thought the battle is going! This is my first time writing a REALLY, REALLY big battle, so I'll like to see how well it's been orchestrated! **

**Just be sure to remind yourselves that this is all in Frank's POV- obviosly, he won't be paying attention to what everyone else is doing. That's the point of big battles- you can't pay attention to everyone. You have to delve yourself into the fighting, only noticing important details. This is part of the reason why the POV switches are now random, since I want to reach out from multiple people's POV and feelings in order to gain a better dynamic. Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. Enjoy!**

***Important Annoucement End***

**Reviews:**

**silverwolvesarecool: Indeed! You have another WHOPPER chapter and a HUGE battle going on for this update! Be sure to enjoy, and thank you for the review! Only five chapters left!**

**TideNightwalker: Yup... Interesting. You'll like this chapter, so enjoy! Also, thanks for the review!**

**bris38: Heh... You'll see what I have planned for him. All I can say... opinions of him may sway in the future.**

**robinkunz.395: You'll certainly enjoy this chapter! It's huge, and has a super-awesome-epic battle. Sorry to hear about the bland prom, though. My public high school has over 2,000 students, so there are many interesting prom ideas... Sadly, I can't go until next year- I am currently a sophomore. Glad you had fun, though! Enjoy this chapter, and thanks for the review!**

**Awesomeness: Ohhhhh... Yeah, you'll see Hylla in this chapter. If you noticed, she only gets really ferocious when battles are going on (Blood of Olmypus and the jail-cell breakout in Son of Neptune are perfect examples). Other than that, she can get humorous in situations, such as that time in BOO when she joked with Reyna about enjoying the fact that she got to tie her up. Hylla has a few layered personalities, so remember that! Enjoy this chapter!**

**Court0624: Indeed! Be sure to enjoy this chapter, as there are five left afterwards! Thanks for the review!**

**So, without further ado... THE SUPER-AWESOME EPIC BATTLE, PART ONE!**

* * *

**XLVII: Frank**

**Seeing an army of monsters fighting to their death intimidated Frank**.

"This is crazier than I expected..." Hazel whispered, peering her head outside of the alley along with Frank.

Frank had to agree. When Calypso radioed about an approaching monster army, Frank didn't expect it to be _that_ big. A few _dracanae_ or hellhounds would have been okay, but apparently the monster army decided to go with the full package works. By full package, Frank was pretty sure that nearly every monster in the scrapbook of '_Most Annoying Monsters Ever_' was present.

"So, we got hit in the face with some flying fish for this?" mused the daughter of Pluto, drawing out her spatha. "That Flying Fish Market was intense enough as it was. Ugh, it even reminded me of the seasickness bouts on the Argo II..."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about the smell anymore?" Frank weakly suggested, just thankful that Hylla's directions were accurate.

Even as the monster army marched across the main street that bordered the alley, Frank was feeling nervous. Hazel's Mist was barely holding up, which was intimidating enough as it was. Apparently, the plan was supposed to be simple- surprise the monster army by leaping on their flank while Hylla, Calypso, Leo, and the Amazons assaulted their front.

At least that was the plan he got from Hazel, who insisted on handling the crystalline device that had been assigned to the pair of them. Frank had to admit that the whole communication-from-a-crystal-hunk was a work of genius engineering from Leo and Calypso. Frank had no doubt that if they opened _Leo and Calypso's Repair_ _Shop_, they would be bathing in drachmas within a year.

"This would be so much more simpler if we were just ordinary tourists... Those streets we took to get here were death traps," Hazel sighed.

"Easy for you to say. You made me fend off all these patrols!" Frank huffed, crossing his arms.

Hazel smiled. "I just wanted you to get some practice. You _are_ supposed to protect me, right?"

"Um... Yeah! That's right. I remember now..." Frank chuckled.

With that, Frank remembered the directions that Hylla gave Hazel over the comm. Finding the northbound route to Fifth Avenue wasn't too hard, but for some reason, navigating through the streets of Seattle itself was harder. The few monster patrols that got in the way were immediately dispatched back to Tartarus. Frank found himself using his animal forms more often with those skirmishes rather than his trusty pair of bow and arrows.

_BANG!_

Frank felt a groan rumble under his feet as another one of those random earthquakes appeared. He craned his head towards the Space Needle, which towered way above the alley at least a full mile away. Ever since that weird still-as-stone cloud vortex attached itself to the observation deck not a half-hour ago, the tremors were getting visibly worse. It was almost as if a being up there was sucking away all the magic in the area, and using it to fuel _something,_ which was probably the case. Either way, Frank knew that the Fates needed to be rescued ASAP, in texting terms.

"Those are no ordinary earthquakes, I'll give you that," Hazel said, interrupting Frank from his wistful gaze at the Space Needle. "I can't _sense_ anything coming from them. It's not from the Earth, for some odd reason... If it was, then I could detect it. No... My guess is the sky. The sky is _somehow_ doing this."

"The sky? Ouranos? He can't have consciousness yet... Maybe it has to do with a summoning?" Frank suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "This whole thing just reminds me of what Jason said about the whole Porphyrion-rising thing."

Hazel gritted her teeth. "Rising from the earth... Rising from the sky... You may be right, Frank. There could be a connection."

Even though that was meant to be a form of reassurance, Frank knew that it was basically just an attempt to grasp at straws. He had no idea what was at the top of the Needle, barring the Fates' prison, and he didn't know if the others knew anything either. But the worrying thing was the mortal, Eva.

Ouranos had said back at the top of Mount Tam that the mortal was kidnapped, and Frank knew that she was here at the top of the Space Needle. What a not-yet-awake primordial needed with a mortal, however, Frank didn't know. He _did _feel ashamed about forgetting Eva in the first place. Heck, Frank even forgot about her again when he infiltrated the city with the others. The thought of that girl nagged at the back of Frank's mind, making him chew down on his lower lip.

_AROOOO!_

The howl of monsters reminded Frank of why he was here in the first place. He turned his attention back to the army of crazy monsters, and Hazel tiptoed to his side, doing the same.

"Frank, look at that guy over there," Hazel hissed, pointing to the head of the army.

"You mean the really tall dude?"

By now, Frank was at the very edge of the alley, taking a close look at the marching column which was barely ten feet from him. He could see what Hazel was pointing to, which made him feel confused. At the head of the army was a tall, furry-haired creature with bull horns protruding from the head. For some reason, Frank knew what that monster was, but he couldn't put his finger on it. An omega-shaped blade dangled from the creature's right hand, and the beast raised it in the air, urging his followers forward. Frank followed the line of sight that the blade was pointing towards, and the very image he saw made his heart sink.

In the distance, Frank could see over fifty warriors dressed in black pantsuits fighting for their lives. The Amazons (_duh)_ were all armed with hunting knives, and Frank could even see Hylla and Calypso at the front of the Amazon army, fighting back-to-back with each other. A fray of monsters and black-suited warriors were entangled within a wide circle radiating a hundred-feet long, which was the obvious kill zone.

"Wow... Looks like the Amazons are in trouble. I never thought I would see such few warriors..." Hazel whispered, waving her hands to maintain the Mist.

Frank wasn't particularly fond of the Amazons. After all, the last time he came to Seattle, they happened to lock him and Percy in a jail cell like dogs. Then, after that, Hazel happened to bust them out of the compound with a newly-freed Arion, who didn't like him for some apparent reason at that time. After dangling like a puppet from a bumpy chariot and getting a verbal smackdown from a cussing horse, Frank wasn't particularly eager to relieve the experience.

As Frank watched the battle unfold with Hazel, he noticed several Amazon warriors dropping like flies due to the sheer numbers of the monsters. About a half dozen Amazons were laying dead on the ground and two injured ones seemed to be trying to crawl to safety, which was useless, thanks to the rampaging army of bloodthirsty monsters. Altogether, Frank counted maybe seven or eight-hundred monsters in the fray.

The highlight of the entire battle scene, however, was the blazing-red fury of two women at the front of the defensive circle. Even at this distance, Frank could _definitely_ tell that the woman on the right was Calypso, holding a knife. Next to the daughter of Atlas was Hylla, Queen of the Amazons. Her golden labyrinthe belt was glowing some sort of bright color, signifying her rage. Frank didn't know why he felt like repeating the moves of the duo of Calypso and Hylla over and over again, but their combined power was something worth babbling on about.

"DIE!" Calypso screamed, doing spinning maneuvers with her knife and vaporizing a hellhound that was inbound for her.

Next to Calypso, Hylla, the Queen of the Amazons, was spinning large hunting knives in the air, slicing and dicing any inbound cyclopes like a monster puree. The very sight of that scared Frank- he never wanted to cross the Queen of the Amazons, or Calypso, for that matter. Either one of them would pummel him into the dirt without any other word.

Looking away from the action, Frank could see the bull-horned beast from earlier standing off to the side of the street, seemingly lost in thought. It looked like the creature was waiting for something, which was odd. Yet, Frank _knew_ that creature. Annoyingly, the information he needed was still so far out of reach since it looked like that bull-man was the leader of the monster army.

"MCSHIZZLE IS HERE!" exclaimed a voice, as Frank saw Leo Valdez sprint into the circle of death, wielding flames of fire.

The son of Hephaestus rolled around two Amazon warriors who were sparring with several _dracanae,_ and blasted bolts of flames into a group of a dozen cyclopes. The cyclopes roared and shrugged off the flames, since they were immune to fire. Leo's face visibly paled, and the son of Hephaestus leaped backwards just in time to avoid being crushed by a club.

Over the roar of the battle, Frank had no idea how he was able to hear all that dialogue and conversation from... well, not far away, actually. Maybe it had something to do with the air?

Frank noticed Hazel shaking her head. "As much as we all love Leo... Sometimes, he's an idiot..." Hazel sighed, facepalming herself.

"Calypso must have a special touch if she can keep him under control... Geez," Frank mused, stroking his chin and observing the battle, his Mars-like tactics formulating in his brain.

"Respect. Reeeespect," Hazel drawled, her golden eyes glinting in the chilly breeze.

"Hazel..." Frank sighed. "Before we go out there for a fight to the death, tell me this- have you been trying to learn modern-day slang, again?"

The daughter of Pluto bowed her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Frank. Even Calypso is having a better time with modern-day stuff than I am..."

Hazel looked remorseful, which touched Frank's heart. It was times like this where he was reminded on how much he loved her. Her personality... Her 40s behavior... All these unique personalities made Hazel special, and Frank knew that. It didn't matter where Hazel was or how she acted- Frank knew that he would follow her to anywhere on Earth... er, _Gaea. _Sure, Hazel was only fifteen, but Frank knew that the lives of demigods were different. Heck, all of them had to grow up quickly, something that Frank experienced firsthand after the war with Gaea two years ago.

With that, Frank smiled. "It's okay. I still love you. Now, are you ready to go out there and stab stuff? It looks like they need our help."

Hazel grinned. "You know I am, Zhang."

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

With a cry, Hazel flicked her hands, dissipating the Mist that surrounded her and Frank.

Frank took a running start towards the monster column and visualized himself changing into his favorite animal of war- an elephant. His nose elongated into a gray snout and his feet grew and grew until it could fit size 65 tennis shoes. Frank could feel his body widening and fattening until it curved into his elephant form, rampaging and snorting.

At that instant, Frank was reminded of his firewood- the stick that connected him to life. Hazel still carried it around for safekeeping, but Frank didn't mention it to anybody. It wasn't really all that relevant anyway- he had accepted the risks that came with it. If Hazel died by accident, or the wood went up in flames _somehow-_ providing that the fireproof cloth burnt out, Frank was ready to face whatever came with it. Life was _so_ much more than worrying about death; it was about living with what you had, living in the moment. At least that was what Piper had told him during one of her 'practice' therapy sessions, which Frank was happy to help out with.

Frank felt all that surge through his mind as he charged towards the circle of struggling Amazons, monsters crying in surprise. Nearby, Hazel was also racing for the struggling group of warriors, slashing and disemboweling any monster that was foolish enough to get in her way. Yup, that was one of the perks of dating a normal demigod girlfriend who happened to be raised from the dead.

The struggling Amazons all hollered whoops of joys and cheers as Frank and Hazel charged into battle together, surprising the totally unaware column of monsters. Hylla and Calypso immediately broke out in grins, obviously relieved by the arrival of reinforcements. Together, both women hollered out orders, spurring the remaining Amazons to leap back into the fray.

"WOOHOO! YOU GO, ZHANG!" Leo hollered, throwing his head back in the air. The son of Hephaestus was skittering around three Amazon warriors who were in a tight formation, defending against a tribe of wild centaurs.

Frank merely trumpeted in response, trampling dozens of monsters underfoot.

Dracanae howled. Cyclopes roared. Three-feet tall machines of death crumpled. But to Frank, it didn't matter. The surprise attack was working, since the monster army was now shuffling to the left- thanks to being pressured on two flanks, as well as being wedged into a crumbling formation on the right.

"Amazons, forward!" Hylla roared, swinging her hunting knives in an arc and racing towards Frank.

In response, the forty or so remaining warriors split in two formations, flanking the side of their leader. Hylla took a running start, and Frank knew what she was going to do. He slowed down just long enough to feel Hylla leaping onto his back, flipping in the air and emerging on the other side, stabbing a cyclops right in the eye.

Calypso swished by Frank's vision, as the daughter of Atlas rolled under his elephant legs, slicing up a nearby dracanae to nothing but itty-bitty pieces of snake sushi. Leo zoomed by, throwing fireballs at random and following one of the Amazon columns, trying to push the monster army back up to the Space Needle. Frank followed, trying to corner as many monsters as he possibly could. Unfortunately, something interesting caught his eye.

A monster zoomed by at such a blindingly fast speed that it gave Frank the spins.

_CRASH!_

A fifty-foot tall orange monster cracked the pavement barely thirty feet down the street, eliciting a shrill battle cry that made Frank's elephant ears wince in agony. The monster spread out four wings and flicked out several sharp talons from its claws. Altogether, the monster was incredibly intimidating and looked dangerous for that matter.

Over the din of battle, Frank could hear Hazel saying something.

"Oh, come on! Not another one of those _kardoni_!" growled the daughter of Pluto, doing a tuck-roll and dismembering a two-headed dog-man creature with her spatha.

"UNCLE LEO HAS THIS!" screamed the son of Hephaestus, appearing out of nowhere and chucking a column of fire at the so-called _kardoni_ creature.

In response, the creature simply vanished out of existence, making Leo's fire smash into a wooden building. The building erupted into flames, thankfully incinerating several weird Cupid-like wing creatures that were scuttling around it. All the while, Frank could feel his elephant form dropping a jaw. He thought that it would have been nice to know if a monster could conveniently teleport!

"Leo! Those creatures can basically teleport! You'll have to really catch them off guard if you want to kill them!" Hazel hollered, making her way over to the son of Hephaestus.

_Nice to know_, Frank thought.

"I don't think it likes me!" Leo exclaimed, ducking out of the way of an incoming arrow.

"Of course _kardoni _don't like... WATCH OUT!" Hazel screamed, rolling to the side.

Leo barely got the message as the son of Hephaestus also scampered out of the way- the _kardoni_ materializing out of nowhere and smashing a fist into the spot where Leo once stood. The incoming arrow harmlessly shattered against the side of the _kardoni's_ scale armor.

Even as the creature stood firm, dozens of Amazon warriors were fighting for their very lives. They all tried avoiding the gaze of the creature, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to beat. Five more Amazons fell, but all the rest held firm, desperately trying to hold out from the wave of monsters, which was lessening after each minute ticked by. Frank did his best, smashing and crunching every monster that came by, but the wave still looked endless. Thankfully, it looked like there were less than five-hundred of them left, but they still looked hungry for battle.

Frank saw Hylla flash past him, charging the _kardoni_ with all her might.

"FOUL BEAST!" Hylla screamed, throwing a hunting knife at the growling _kardoni._

The monster simply materialized out of existence as the knife embedded itself into the right eye of a four-foot tall bronze automaton. The whirs and clicks of the machine died in the breeze as it shut itself down- courtesy of a nice hunting knife for breakfast.

While that happened, Frank rammed his trunk into a group of over twenty-four yellow-skinned creatures, which were those horrible _loamae_ from Jefferson City. To Frank, there was nothing sweeter than a hot plate of revenge best served with golden dust.

The Queen of the Amazons flashed past Frank's vision again, sprinting to Hazel, who was dueling with some sort of human-dog hybrid with yellow armor. With a cry, Hylla vaporized the hybrid creature instantly, sending it back to Tartarus. Frank saw Hazel's eyes pop open as Hylla dismembered five monsters around her at a blindingly impossible speed.

"How did you even defeat this foul creature in the first place?!" Hylla snarled, the question obviously directed at Hazel.

"Y-you ask me!" stuttered the daughter of Pluto. "I still can't believe that Jason and I were able to beat it in the first place, let alone surprise it!"

The _kardoni_ re-materialized near the two arguing women, looking as if it was taking advantage of their current occupation. The corners of the monster's lip curled up into a smile, and Frank somehow knew what it was going to do.

He tried bolting for the _kardoni_ in order to shield Hazel, but something else did it for him first.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

A flash emanated from the sky, making Frank look up in curiosity. All the while, he felt his bottom-left elephant foot ramming some sort of creature with a bear's head into a pile of golden dust. But that didn't matter, since what came from above was far better than anything that anyone expected.

"WHOOHOOO! THAT'S MY BOY!" Leo grinned, flipping his hands in the air and smashing the nose of a four-legged cat-bear-kitten hybrid with a hammer.

Frank felt like _whoo-hooing_ himself too.

Festus the bronze dragon swept out of the sky, incinerating the growling _kardoni_ where it stood- dissolving it into a pile of black goo. An awful stench emanated from it, making Frank want to throw up.

The even better news was Jason, however. The son of Jupiter was riding on Festus' back- a supercharged bolt of lightning crackling from his gladius. With a grunt, Jason leaped off the bronze dragon, slamming the might of the sky itself into the ground, instantly vaporizing the first fifty monsters that stood nearest to him.

Jason didn't look too good, which was saying a lot. The son of Jupiter's clothes were charred and tattered, as if he had been caught in some sort of explosion. Festus didn't look too good either, since the dragon had multiple patches of black soot covering his bronze body, and several parts of his wings were punctured. Still, the combined might of Jason and Festus smashed and vaporized monster after monster until fewer remained.

With that, Frank felt relieved. At least Jason was accounted for. The only people missing now were Piper and Lou Ellen, which worried him. But the battle was ongoing, and Frank couldn't afford to jeopardize it- he had to focus on achieving victory first. That was Percy's problem, throwing personal loyalty to his friends over victory. This very battle reminded Frank of how dangerous Percy's fatal flaw was- if he was here, then leaving the battle to save his friends could undoubtedly kill them all and cause defeat.

Frank shook out of his thoughts and lumbered over to a squad of _dracanae_ and subsequently flattened them. The tide began turning. Frank counted thirty Amazons left, but all that didn't matter now. Only two-hundred monsters remained, starting to look nervous.

Nearby, both Hazel and Hylla had wide eyes, seemingly registering the fact that Jason had saved them from certain death. Calypso flashed by Frank's vision, sprinting towards the duo of girls, turning it into a trio. After a few exchanged words, the three of them leaped back into the battle together, hacking and slashing away at monsters.

Frank shook his elephant-y head and resumed flattening as many monsters as he possibly could. Jason whirled by Frank's vision, spinning his gladius around and stabbing some random monsters. Festus spewed fire, instantly incinerating a half-dozen monsters with every burst of flames he threw from his maw.

Frank spied Leo running towards Festus, who was gliding several feet in the air. With a grunt, the son of Hephaestus leaped on top of his dragon. Festus blasted up into the air with his master on his back, and they began firing away at monsters from several dozen feet in the air, swishing and swirling in the breeze itself. Bronze bullet cannons emerged from the dragon's wings, firing a rapid pace of bullets so quickly that it made Frank's large elephant teeth chatter.

Lightning crackled in the air, snapping and flicking over the Seattle skyline, signifying that Jason was using all his power to destroy the monster army. Frank spied the son of Jupiter fighting his way over to him, looking as if he was trying to say something.

"Hey dude!" Jason smiled, gliding over to Frank.

Frank could only trumpet a _hello, _since, well, he was currently occupied in his elephant form. Jason seemed to get the message, however, and the son of Jupiter blasted toward a group of hellhounds, summoning a streak of lightning from the air.

As Jason occupied himself, Frank eyed a mini-battle occurring to his left. Together, Hylla, Calypso, and Hazel were up to their backs in monsters, hacking and slashing away furiously. The three of them worked like they had been doing this for thousands of years- somersaulting, flipping, and leaping off of each other's backs, exploiting every single weakness that the force of foolish monsters presented. The three women were like a deadly hurricane, strangling the life of any monster that attempted to come close.

Frank felt elated- they were actually winning this! Less than seventy-five monsters were left, starting to back away to their original starting point- the Space Needle.

The bull-man Frank saw earlier was nowhere to be seen, which worried him. It had probably been vaporized earlier, so Frank tried not to think about it too much. Besides, the remaining Amazons were doing well, dealing with every single monster that even dared to cross their path.

"GROWF!"

Frank jerked his elephant head around and gazed at a looming figure stalking down the street towards him. All the other surviving monsters started making a pathway for the hairy beast to pass, obviously scared of whatever it was.

"Frank, are you even taking care of the Minotaur?" Calypso exclaimed over the noise of the battle, spinning her knife around and stabbing a _dracanae_ in the gut.

The very mention of the Minotaur made Frank twist and turn back into his human form, staring on in awe.

Frank's eyes widened. "You're telling me that's the Minotaur?!"

In reality, Frank was berating himself for being so stupid. The Minotaur... Half man, half bull. Frank remembered Percy telling him the story of how he had defeated the Minotaur twice- once when he was twelve, and second during the events of the first Great Prophecy.

"Well, yeah! I assumed that you knew already, right? The dude's been standing over there for the whole battle! It's like he's been stalking us the whole time... which is really creepy if you ask me!" Calypso retorted, twisting around to hi-jump-kick a three-foot tall green-skinned man into a nearby brick wall.

As the daughter of Atlas busied herself, Frank turned towards the snarling beast, feeling humbled, yet scared at the same time, since one of the most famous creatures in all of mythology was coming for him.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Time stood still around the battlefield. It reminded Frank of that scene in the _Matrix_ where an entire battle was going on, but it was frozen in time. The only moving things were him... and the Minotaur. The creature didn't have his sword for some reason, which made Frank feel a little confused.

The hairy beast narrowed its eyes, and Frank could feel the harsh gaze burn into his forehead. The Minotaur was supposed to be rotting in Tartarus, so Frank had no idea how the heck it got out after three-ish years. What was next? A bloodthirsty giant rising from the dead?

The Minotaur roared, and Frank felt the ground under him tremble as the beast swished his feet back and forth- and subsequently charged. The several monsters in the Minotaur's path were immediately vaporized by the protruding horns stretched in front of the stampeding beast.

Frank felt his heart pound. Whether it was from fear or awe, he didn't know.

He shook out of it instantly, realizing that an extremely tall, angry beast was charging at him with very pointy horns. Frank narrowed his eyes, and began bracing himself for the good 'ol _duck-at-the-last-minute_ trick that Percy mentioned to him.

Closer. Closer. Closer. Closer. Closer.

At the very last moment, Frank jerked off to the side- metamorphing into a cheetah to give him a burst of extra speed for clearance. Yellow fur replaced his skin. Black spots danced on his body. Long, elongated feet softly padded his soles.

Frank grinned- the Minotaur was too easy to deal with.

What happened next threw Frank off his guard, as the Minotaur _moved_ to the side with a speed that should have been impossible- and _grabbed_ him.

"FRANK!" Hazel screamed, as Frank could barely make out her form in the corner of his cheetah eyes.

Frank felt inertia take him over as he uncontrollably reverted back into human form- just in time to feel the Minotaur throwing him into a nearby building.

_CRACK!_

Frank swore that he felt something in his back snap as he made impact with a very hard brick wall, making him scream in agony. The Minotaur bellowed in triumph, drawing out an omega blade from his back.

Huh, so _that's_ where the sword went, Frank thought.

By now, Frank could definitely hear cries of alarm from his friends as Calypso, Hylla, Jason, and Hazel all bolted for the Minotaur, trying to reach the man-bull before he could kill him. Even as this happened, Frank could spy the Minotaur slowly stalking towards him with a pleased look. Black spots danced in Frank's eyes, making him blink in a stupor.

Frank couldn't move. The force of the impact had left him wincing in agony, and the prospect of any monsters killing him before the Minotaur did wasn't very much of an issue. There were very few monsters left by now, no more than twenty, which were being currently dealt with by the rest of Hylla's Amazon warriors.

Hazel reached the Minotaur first, but the beast simply shrugged her aside as if she was a sack of potatoes. Hylla charged. Jason spat out lightning. Calypso did some judo moves. Even Leo swooped Festus from above, firing bullet after bullet into the Minotaur's body.

But it was useless. The Minotaur shrugged every single one of those attacks off, stalking closer and closer to Frank. As the creature moved closer, swinging his sword, Frank had to wonder how on _Gaea_ a monster could be that strong. It should have been impossible- the Minotaur would have been vanquished by now. It was almost as if the creature had been blessed with some sort of _power_, making it unstoppable. Plus, the aura around the Minotaur gave away that much.

Twenty feet. Fifteen. Ten. Five.

As Frank prepared to face his death, he took a glance at the Space Needle, and what he saw next made his heart sink. Hundreds of monsters were pouring in from several surrounding streets, advancing from the Space Needle itself. The even worse news, however, was two weird stick-prison thingies being carried by several guards of cyclopes. Two figures were tied up on them. Looking closer, Frank could make out the forms of Piper and Lou Ellen- both unconscious and obviously captured.

"Piper!" Jason cried, turning his attention away from the Minotaur and zooming towards his fiancee.

There were easily as many monsters coming in as there originally were on the battlefield- at least eight-hundred. More were pouring in, which made Frank realize that the whole thing was indeed a trap.

The form of the Minotaur loomed above Frank, jarring him from his observation. Frank gulped.

As the Minotaur raised his sword for the killing blow, Frank gritted his teeth, prepared for what was about to come.

What _did _come, however, was something that Frank didn't expect to happen in his entire lifetime. The ground began shaking as a dark shadow loomed above the Minotaur, bellowing a deep war cry.

Frank could faintly hear Calypso gasp as the Titan Atlas dropped onto the battlefield.

* * *

**Another whopper chapter... Wowzers. *Laughs evilly***


	48. XLVIII: Calypso

**Tick tock. Only four chapters remain. Wow, it's been an amazing journey... And it all finishes this week! Do not despair- four more books are coming up on the horizon... with even more in the future... I am here to stay in Fanfiction, so rest assured! Enjoy this chapter! I know I did!**

**Reviews:**

**silverwolvesarecool: Indeed! Here's another chapter for ya, and enjoy!**

**robinkunz.395: Yup! You'll learn a little more about him in this chapter! It's interesting knowing that you go to a private school, since I have the experience of being in a public high school, of all things. Sure, ours is the best one in the city, but 2,000 students every day takes a toll on things... LOL. Also, thanks for the movie director comment! I was actually thinking about that the other day... It would be pretty easy to turn this book into a movie- it's kind of easier to do that than the real books, I would think... As for publishing it, Uncle Rick would have to grant permission... :/. The PJO/HOO copyright is exclusively owned by him, and you cannot publish in violation lieu of copyrights. I think of this book like Avengers: Age of Ultron, if you have not seen it already. Age of Ultron cannot work as a movie without the prequel movies before it, such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, or else you will not understand 90% of the movie. As for real books, I do intend to write some someday. This series is my way of practicing writing for REAL published books someday, which I hope to achieve. I have some ideas, but I won't spoil them! Anyway, thanks for the review! See you next time!**

**follower: Sorry, it's not! I closed it down to work on this story full-time and move on with my life! Too much work, money, and stress for my resources!**

**Court0624: Yeah... obvious. Be sure to pay attention, since I don't bring back those monsters for no reason! I'm not a horribly cliche author. If you want an understanding of how I work, go look at Marvel's Cinematic Universe, where everything ties together in the end. I've planted seeds in SO many chapters for foreshadowing events... If you try to look. Heck, I have three seeds in this chapter alone! Pay close attention, and enjoy the chapter!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLVIII: Calypso**

**Seeing her dad squash the Minotaur into nothing but golden dust amazed Calypso.**

Atlas' studded boots slammed into the Minotaur's head, instantly sending the legendary creature back to Tartarus.

"YOU WILL ALL FALL!" Atlas roared, brandishing a spear out of thin air. "OURANOS, YOU WILL REGRET TRIFLING WITH THE MIGHT OF ATLAS!"

Calypso saw her father streak towards the new monster army with blinding speed, smashing and utterly destroying every single one of those hapless creatures. Atlas was a literal blur, shredding and ripping apart every single remaining monster in mere seconds, giving Calypso the spins. The Titan unleashed fray after fray of blinding light, overwhelming and tearing apart the cyclopes who held on to Piper and Lou Ellen's cages.

Dracanae screamed. Cyclopes howled. One lone _kardoni_ was taken by surprise- being shredded into oblivion by the Titan's wrath.

_BANG! BOOM!_

Atlas slammed his fists into the ground, sending out shockwave after shockwave, destroying any attempt the monsters made to bring in reinforcements. The Titan used his spear as well- jabbing and slashing with a precision that Calypso had never seen for thousands of years.

My _father_, Calypso thought with awe.

As Atlas ripped apart the monsters, Calypso felt happy memories overwhelm her head, sending her into a fit of flashbacks.

_"Calypso, dear. Believe in yourself, and you will be able to pursue great things. Never let your despair overwhelm you. Be strong, and stand above all others, no matter how they scorn or reject you. You are stronger than them, remember that," Atlas said, as a seventy-five year old Calypso sat on her father's lap._

The scene shifted, making Calypso's eyebrows furrow.

_Ninety-year old Calypso hid in a dark corner of Mount Othrys. She barely suppressed a giggle, hiding from her father in a game of hide-or-seek. It had been going on for hours now, and Calypso thought that she was certainly winning the prize for being the best hider ever. _

Calypso felt the flashback reverse, sending her to an earlier time in her life.

_Twenty-year old Calypso stood at the edge of a valley, her father at her side. Together, they gazed at the final streaks of dawn- giving way to light below. The chirps of man-eating birds flickered in the valley, reaching Calypso's ears. This was peace. This was... immeasurable._

The scene shifted again, one that Calypso instantly recognized.

_Calypso splashed in the glittering breeze of Tethys Bay, named after the Titaness. Her father sat on the sand at shore, talking intensely with a woman glimmering in flowing hair- Calypso's mother. Together, the both of them talked in hushes and whispers as Calypso enjoyed herself, picking away all manners of sea flowers from the coral beds glittering in the bay._

Calypso remembered another memory, except, this time, it involved a shred of advice from her father.

_"You have more powers than you would ever think, my dear. Use them to your advantage, exploit your opponents' weaknesses... And above all, never let them topple you down," Atlas said, as Calypso struggled to contain the growing magic inside of her._

Calypso gasped as the overwhelming amount of flashbacks ended, bringing her back to the throes of reality.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

_CLANK!_

The sound of thudding cages reverberated on the street as Piper and Lou Ellen's prisons fell to the ground, since there was... nothing. Calypso observed literally _nothing_ left on the battlefield.

Every single monster- every single one on the field had been utterly destroyed. There was nothing left of them, barring several souvenirs. A random automaton leg. A lock from a _dracanae_. A club from a cyclops. Dozens of those items littered the street, being the only things left of the monster forces. The Space Needle was now clear, devoid of any guards whatsoever.

And the Titan Atlas stood on the empty street- a grin making its way across his face. The Titan seemed pleased about defeating all these monsters, which Calypso knew was probably the case. Her father always did have a penchant for going on bloodthirsty sprees every so often when he had a bout of boredom. It usually happened every couple hundred years or so, but since Atlas was trapped under the sky for eons, Calypso knew that he was eager to jump in action.

Silence reigned on the battlefield as everyone was rendered unable to speak. All around her, Calypso saw Jason, Leo, Hylla, Hazel, and Frank look at her father with wide eyes. All of her friends couldn't even utter a word, thanks to the fact that a _Titan_ just saved them from death.

"Daddy..." Calypso whispered, trying to comprehend what just happened.

Atlas turned around from the mass chaos and destruction... and Calypso could see her father grin, even from nearly a mile away.

"W-wha?" Hylla stuttered, lowering her hunting knives. "H-h-h-how?"

The Queen of the Amazons limped to Calypso's side, processing this turn of events. Hazel stood nearby, trying to shake out of her stupor. Frank was still buried in the brick wall, groaning in pain. Jason paced back and forth in agitation, comprehending the fact that Atlas just saved his fiancee from death. Leo hovered nearby on Festus' back with a grin on his face- since he also knew that this was coming at one point. The remaining Amazon warriors all stood at one side cautiously- making no move to get near Atlas.

"I may or may not have mentioned this yet... but earlier... I talked to my dad. He said he would help if Ouranos poses a threat. I guess I should have mentioned that earlier," Calypso chuckled, remembering the intense conversation she had with her father on Mount Tam a few days ago.

Hylla sighed. "I'm not even sure I _want _to know."

A rumbling sound shook the street, making Calypso turn her attention back to her father. At this distance, Calypso saw Atlas stalk up to the two cages that held Piper and Lou Ellen... and gingerly placed a hand on those cages. The Titan suddenly vanished out of existence, taking the cages with him.

_WHOOSH!_

Atlas rematerialized ten feet in front of Calypso, making her jump. Her father dropped the cages with a_ thud_\- reverberating across the ground. Atlas then proceeded to smack open the cages with his fist- releasing the lock mechanism and making Piper and Lou Ellen tumble to the ground- both women still unconscious.

Even now, Calypso was still impressed by her father's immeasurable strength. Even in the time of the Titans, few could surpass Atlas in physical combat, save for Kronos and several other Titans.

"Well? Are you to stand there like bilge snipe, or attempt to tend to your friends?" Atlas questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"_Bilge snipe?" _Hazel asked, being the first one to speak to the Titan.

Atlas frowned. "Ah, never mind that. It is an old expression spread in another part of the world... One not worth discussing."

Calypso's mood darkened. It was _just_ like her father to use an expression from another pantheon... One that could _never_ be mentioned. If the Greeks and Romans found out... well... bad things would happen. Calypso was just thankful that the ancient contract set long ago by the creator himself was in effect... or chaos would reign. Few could know the truth of the universe, and Calypso knew that her race- the Titans, were entrusted with part of the truth.

Calypso was shaken out of her thoughts by Jason's frantic commotion.

"Pipes!" Jason cried, rushing over to his fiancee's side, making Calypso's heart melt. The son of Jupiter did the same for Lou Ellen, checking if either girls had suffered any wounds.

Hazel skittered over to Frank, keeping her distance from the Titan. Calypso spied Hylla limping toward her remaining Amazon warriors, giving them several instructions. Leo glided Festus to the ground, twenty feet away, and climbed off the dragon, also hurrying to Piper's side.

Both Jason and Leo were fretting over Piper and Lou Ellen, which reminded Calypso of that scene she saw once in the show _General Hospital._ Hazel was talking to Frank in the exact same way like that woman from _Grey's Anatomy_, trying to keep him conscious.

Time slowed down, making Calypso think of Kronos. It was almost as if everything was happening in slow motion- the fires burning in the distance, the smoky ashes of battle drifting in the air... and the form of her father looming above.

"My child. It heartens me to see you once more... as I am a free man," Atlas said, as Calypso saw her father turn towards her.

Atlas walked over to her, clasping her shoulders with his warm, broad hands. Calypso felt warmth course through her as her father _hugged_ her- something he had not done for thousands of years.

"I missed you, dad..." Calypso cried, burying her face into her father's shoulders.

"So did I, θυγατέρα, κόρη," Atlas whispered, as Calypso felt her back being patted lightly.

Even as this happened, Calypso was worried on who was actually going to react to all this. She was pretty sure that the only reason that her father hadn't been attacked yet was the fact that everyone was too stupefied to act, plus the fact of having to tend to Piper and Lou Ellen.

Jason reacted first. Calypso saw the son of Jupiter rise up from Piper's side and supercharge his gladius with a streak of lightning. Calypso had to chuckle nervously- telling her friends about Atlas coming kind of slipped her mind. Then again, infiltrating a city and stabbing a whole army of monsters to death kind of made people forget those sort of things nowadays.

Calypso felt the warmth leave her as her father turned away from the hug, and swung his body towards the son of Jupiter.

"_Boy_... You would do well to know your allies from your enemies," Atlas spat, cracking his knuckles.

"B-but you," Jason stammered, holding his electricity-fused gladius in a swinging position.

"Jason, relax. My dad is on our side, trust me," Calypso coaxed, edging towards the edgy son of Jupiter.

"B-b-but he's a Titan... The battle at Mount Tam... He kept hurling insults, even under the sky..." Jason muttered.

Atlas rolled his eyes. "That was _before_ Ouranos came into the equation. He must, and will be stopped. There is no other choice. The fate of _everything_ rests upon defeating him. And, as such, I have elicited for a truce... To be an ally."

"...Ally? You mean... you're going to _help _us?" Jason muttered. "This must be a dream. Someone... pinch me."

"Gladly!" Leo cheered, as Calypso observed her boyfriend rising from the ground and striding up to Jason, pinching the son of Jupiter on the right arm.

"OW! I didn't mean literally!" Jason exclaimed.

Leo grinned. "Jase, there comes a time in a person's life where he or she needs to be pinched... And this is one of those times."

"And you say you're in love with him... Dear daughter, how is this possible?" Atlas mused, as Calypso felt his leaning shoulder bump her side.

"He's lovable, okay? Sure... he's a little _estupido_ around the sides, but he did free me from Ogygia..." Calypso retorted.

Her father grinned in response, almost as if he knew something that Calypso didn't. Then again, he most probably did. Atlas looked on the scene with a face that Calypso could only describe as serene, considering that he violently ripped apart an entire monster army not five minutes ago. Not only that, but the Titan had saved her friends from certain death.

"Okay... But Calypso, can you really trust him? I'm not on board with this whole idea..." Jason said, interrupting the descending uneasy silence.

Calypso was about to speak for her father's defense, but Atlas raised a hand, which Calypso recognized as a sign to stay quiet. She kept her mouth closed as Atlas' rich voice started speaking.

"Very well. I see no other choice..." Atlas began. "I, Atlas, son of Iapetus, hereby swear on the River Styx to do everything in my power to assist in the defeat of Ouranos or prevent his rising, in whichever shall come first."

Thunder boomed on the horizon, as the Stygian oath was made. Calypso blinked in surprise- she hadn't expected her father to make an oath on the Styx that quickly or seriously. Then again, he _really_ hated Ouranos- nearly all Titans did.

"Whoa! Styx oath! Serious stuff, man! High five!" Leo cheered, attempting to high-five Atlas.

Atlas merely blinked, leaving Leo's hand dangling in the air.

"Uh... Not big on high-fives then?" Leo nervously chuckled, lowering his hand.

Frank elicited a moan of pain, interrupting Leo's attempt at a lame joke. The son of Mars was toppled over the brick wall that the Minotaur threw him into, and it looked like that he was unable to move at all. Calypso felt pity for Frank- the Minotaur had thrown him so hard that even she could hear a distinct _crack_ over the din of battle from dozens of yards away. Hazel tried speaking to Atlas, obviously worried over her own boyfriend.

"C-can you heal Frank? I-I don't know how bad his back is," Hazel ventured, tending to a moaning Frank.

"Indeed. It appears that your friend is in need of dire medical assistance. Allow me to do so," Atlas said.

With that, the general of the Titans strode over to Frank, placing a hand over the demigod's right shoulder. Calypso could hear Frank wince in pain as golden light began enveloping him, shining brightly in the dim smoke resulted by the battle.

The son of Mars gasped and shot upwards- healed instantly by Atlas' Titan magic. The cuts and bruises suffered from the battle began fading away, dissolving and morphing itself into normal, tan, Chinese-Canadian-baby-man skin.

Several Amazon warriors, Hylla included, gasped at the healing display that Atlas presented, making Calypso roll her eyes. Hadn't any of those women seen an all-powerful godly-hating Titan heal a demigod before?

"Lord Atlas... Sir, if you're not busy... Could you heal the others too?" Jason asked, jerking a head towards Piper and Lou Ellen. The son of Jupiter was obviously trying to place nice, since getting on Atlas' bad side was not a good option, and Calypso knew that.

Atlas nodded in assent, and the Titan strolled over to Piper and Lou Ellen, placing a hand on their foreheads and chanting ancient words of magic.

As her father worked on those two demigods, Calypso couldn't help but feel a stab of sympathy for them. So far, on this quest, it seemed as if they were overlooked and under-appreciated. It was something that Calypso had experienced herself on Ogygia, but she knew that there was a time for everything. It mattered not who was prominent on a quest- it was the role that each person played. Calypso knew that everyone had a part, whether it was big or small. She also knew that there was a time in every journey where a person got a chance to shine.

Piper jerked up first, startling Calypso. Lou Ellen awoke mere seconds later, the both of them looking oddly confused.

"Oh, Pipes, thank goodness!" Jason exclaimed, crushing the daughter of Aphrodite in a suffocating hug.

Calypso looked upon the scene with a smile. She knew that she was a sucker for romance ever since Leo bought her a set of full paperback novels involving romance while they traveled through Denmark. Admittedly, the whole scenario ended up with them fighting some weird two-feet tall dudes inside their hotel room, but it was okay, nonetheless.

"O-okay, Sparky, stop," Piper gasped, shrugging Jason off of her. "Anyone mind telling me what happened?"

"I almost died, that's what happened!" Frank ventured, as Calypso spied Hazel gingerly yanking him up from the ground, brushing bits of bricks off his shoulders.

"Shush," Calypso smiled. "Now, Piper. I want you to meet my dad, Atlas."

"T-the _Titan_?" Piper stuttered, slowly crawling away from Atlas. "B-b-but..."

Atlas sighed, interrupting Piper's gaped stutters. "Are all demigods like this?"

"They're... uhm... intuitive," Calypso chuckled, in reply.

"Okay, I won't ask any questions... But one- _why_ and _how_ is he here?" Lou Ellen asked, speaking up for the first time since she regained consciousness.

"Wait a minute... Lou, why aren't you asking about him turning to the good side?" Piper questioned.

Lou Ellen shrugged. "Technically, my mom is a Titan. She's the daughter of Nyx, but people nowadays label her as a goddess. Either way, if Atlas is here and _not_ killing us, I trust Calypso enough to know what she's doing."

Calypso couldn't help but grin. Lou Ellen was _definitely_ different.

Atlas smiled. "Good question, daughter of Hecate. A very short while ago, my burden under the sky was lifted. I know not or how, but Ouranos has regained at _least_ enough awareness to have a semblance of control over his territory once more. As soon as I felt the burden of the sky dissipate, I immediately made my way to this spot in order to assist you all."

Lou Ellen nodded. "Sounds good. Now, are we going to storm the Space Needle or what?"

Calypso blinked. The Space Needle... of course. Over the din of battle, and Atlas crashing to the ground, she momentarily forgot about the drastic importance of reaching the Space Needle before whatever was happening up there finished.

Atlas nodded. "We must hurry."

With that, both Lou Ellen and Piper struggled up from the ground, something that Calypso had to admire. Being kidnapped by a monster army and being knocked unconscious, as well as getting back up on your feet five minutes afterwards, wasn't an easy feat.

The rest of the demigods gathered, forming a circle around Calypso and her dad, muttering words of assurance and comfort. Leo was twiddling with some sort of bronze gear- since Calypso had noticed him ordering Festus away to a safe spot just now. Hazel was still supporting Frank, and Jason and Piper were muttering thankful whispers of being lucky to be alive.

"Well? Are we going to the Needle, or not?" Atlas questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Calypso smiled. It was in the nature of her father to be impatient. It was also in his nature to be a little violent and brutal towards people who were not part of his family. But, since the circumstances were special, Calypso knew that her father was curbing his hatred of the Olympians for the sake of stopping Ouranos- hence why he was acting extremely calm.

"Uhm... I guess?" Hazel ventured, being brave enough to walk closer to the Titan.

Atlas nodded. "Very well. Grab onto my hands, then."

"W-why?" Frank stuttered, shaking out of his stupor.

The general of the Titans groaned. "Do you want to walk a full mile, or do you want a convenient teleport to save your energy for what lies ahead?"

Mutters of _yeah, trues,_ radiated through the group, making Calypso nod as well. If a Titan conveniently offered to teleport you for free, it was a good idea to take up the offer. Well, unless he or she was your enemy. In this case, it was good.

With that, Calypso placed a hand over her father's outstretched palm, feeling a warmth she had not felt for eons. Together, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Leo, Frank, and Lou Ellen placed their hands on top of Calypso's, closing their eyes to prepare for teleport.

"Wait, Calypso!" Hylla gasped, as Calypso noticed her striding over. "I just want to say... Thanks for your help."

Calypso smiled. "No, thank _you._ I don't know if we could have bought enough time for my dad to come without you and your warriors pitching in."

Calypso had to admire Hylla's ferociousness. The Queen of the Amazons had proved to be a valuable ally, which made Calypso feel a twinge of sadness that so many warriors had betrayed the cause of the Amazons. Wherever the traitorous Amazons were now, Calypso knew that they would probably run into them someday, especially if they were working for the enemy side.

Hylla nodded. "It is with great certainty that you would make a great Amazon. I see that would not be the case, however. I wish you good luck on your endeavors, Calypso.

"You too, Hylla. Thanks again!"

The Queen of the Amazons nodded as Calypso felt her vision blur into darkness- a result of being suddenly teleported.

_FOOSH!_

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

_FOOSH!_

Calypso felt her stomach being sucker-punched as she materialized into existence- right into the main lobby of the Space Needle itself.

Glass-paneled windows immediately greeted Calypso's vision, strewn all around the walls of the lobby itself. Steel arches towered overhead, supporting the ceiling in a large, arched expanse. Red, Hollywood-like carpets lead to several things dotted around the lobby, including a nearby indoor gift-shop and an elevator in which Calypso assumed went up to the very top of the Space Needle itself.

Around Calypso, all of her friends groaned- experiencing the effects of teleportation. Jason, Piper, and Lou Ellen looked relatively unfazed, almost as if they had done it before. Frank and Hazel both looked a little green, and Leo was being... well... _Leo._ Atlas was stoic- immediately searching the room for any signs of traps or hidden monster armies who decided to pop out at the last moment.

"Woo! We're here, at last! The place of swag!" Leo exclaimed, pumping his fists into the air.

Calypso could feel herself, her friends, and her father all rolling their eyes in exasperation.

"Yeah, sure dude. Whatever," Jason began, "but what now?"

Atlas nodded his head towards a metal-studded elevator nearby. "We cruise up. Are all of you ready to take on what lies ahead? Whatever occurs at the top may be perilous, but we must do this for the sake of stopping Ouranos."

Hazel, Frank, and Lou Ellen all nodded- deep in thought.

"Very well, then. I shall lead," Atlas said.

With that, the general of the Titans strode over to the steel elevator, inspecting the exterior. Calypso followed, looking at the elevator curiously. It was rather simple- something that mortals would make. Steel grooves were etched along the elevator sides, pattering out odd designs. A large panel was attached to the top of the elevator entrance, signifying whether the elevator was up top or not.

It was down.

Calypso couldn't help but feel herself mysteriously sweatdrop. Here were her and her friends, finally reaching the source of all the trouble that wreaked havoc over the last week. The mysterious thing, however, was how _silent_ it was. The earthshaking events from earlier were nowhere to be felt, and not one monster was milling around, which made Calypso nervous. The entire thing SCREAMED a bad vibe, but there was no other choice but to go up.

"So, up that ladder is a potentially world-ending event? Seems pretty normal to me," Lou Ellen mused, breaking the silence.

"Perceptions are deceiving, daughter of Hecate. Even from here, I can sense a great source of power massing at the very top of this tower. There is exceptionally _strong _magic at work here... Where it comes from, I know not. Be prepared, all of you. I sense a potential fallout... one of which I cannot determine quite yet... for something foreboding looms on the horizon," Atlas replied.

"Fallout... That's _exactly_ what Lady Nyx said..." Jason mused.

Atlas whirled around. "You have spoken to Lady _Night_ herself?!"

Jason shrugged. "Yeah. She and I are kind of tight."

"You will need to discuss this with me at a further date... The appearance of Night herself is certainly ominous... For now, we must pursue the final goal," Atlas mused.

Calypso found herself agreeing with her father. She had hid a mask of surprise earlier when Jason told her about Lady Nyx appearing in a dream. There certainly wasn't a coincidence to be found with the appearance of Lady Night and the end of the quest.

With that, Atlas turned back toward the elevator entrance and pressed a smooth, silver button.

The doors opened with a shudder, exposing a spacey, white aerie interior. For all the calmness that the elevator presented, it only served as a catalyst to make Calypso even _more_ nervous. Something was off... and she had no idea what it was.

Atlas hobbled inside first, and Calypso followed him. Behind her, her friends shuffled inside the elevator, single file. Even Leo seemed silent, which _really _made Calypso jittery. If her lovable boyfriend was moody, then something dreaded was waiting above.

_WAM!_

The doors slammed shut, and Calypso felt her stomach lurch. The elevator jerked upwards, rocketing towards the observation deck of the Space Needle and whatever the heck was up there.

The mood was silent, as well as awkward, since a eons-old ten-foot tall Titan was squished in the middle of the small elevator, overshadowing Calypso herself. Her friends were squished to the side, and Leo fiddled with her hands, holding it tightly.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Music started playing- a tune that Calypso recognized as _The Good 'ol Days. _

Atlas hummed- seemingly as if he liked the music. Knowing her father, Calypso thought that he most probably would.

With that, she had to gasp. If her father was really free now, then she could reconnect with him! Calypso imagined all the things they could do... including showing Atlas the joys of the mortal snack known as... _ice cream. _The treat was amazing, and it coincidentally happened to give namely annoying people brain freezes when they began irritating other people!

The general of the Titans began tapping his feet in rhythm with the music, making Calypso scrunch in confusion.

"Doo...daaa... Good 'ol days..." Atlas muttered, under his breath.

Calypso had to wonder _just_ what the heck her father was doing.

"Until we see again... Good 'ol days..." Jason chimed in, also tapping his feet.

"Doo...daaa... Till I see my love again..." Lou Ellen muttered, getting in the rhythm.

Eh, what the heck, Calypso thought.

With that, she began humming to the tune of the song- Hazel, Frank, and Leo joining in as well. Soon, the elevator was filled with the chorus of six demigods, one bloodthirsty Titan, and Calypso herself.

As the elevator rocketed up towards the Space Needle's observation deck, Calypso wondered what would lie ahead. But first, she was committed to finishing this song.

* * *

**Yeeep. The general of the Titans singing a song in an elevator. Swaggy.**


	49. XLVIX: Will

**IMPORTANT**

**ALERT: I will be heading to a flying camp for one week, starting tomorrow, so do not expect any updates until then. Sure, I could have finished the book beforehand, but I didn't want to rush the climax of the final chapters in the story. Just be patient, and wait until then!**

**Again, I apologize! But, if you think about it... I really need a vacation. Seriously. Writing 52 chapters for an entire book over the course of six months is no easy feat... ;). I'll see you guys in a week or so... **

**Until then, sit tight and hang on! Reread 'em chapters to get the feels in! **

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

***Important Annoucement***

**Heyo! And here we are... Three chapters away from the grand finale. We are so close to the end of the journey... And you all have stuck by me loyally. As you know, the next book comes out on August 1, so I hope you are all eagerly waiting in anticipation!**

**As for this chapter... I bet you guys didn't see this one coming! Remember, this is a chaotic battle, which makes it impossible to tell everything all around- there's only so much that Will can see and observe. :P. If you get confused, explanations will be coming in later chapters, so don't fret! **

**P.S: Let me know if this whole end-of-the-book thing is already going better than Uncle Rick made it. Let's face it- his BOO final battle only lasted two chapters. I've been having two major battles occurring over five chapters now... With three more on the way. Seriously, have I done better already? I feel I have, so just let me know what you think about that!**

***End Annoucement***

**Reviews**

**DivergentWeStand (Or, as I say, person who changes her username every five minutes... :P): I understand about the fluff... but I'm terrible at romance. :P. Though, I did try and put in a few scenes, such as the one with Piper/Jason during the first chapter of Jason's 2nd block, as well as quite a bit of Percy/Annabeth in Reyna's and Percy's chapters. There's a little bit mental fluff here, if you're interested. ;). **

**robinkunz395: Thank you for the brillant review! I will be PMing you an answer sometime tomorrow, as I have quite a bit to talk to you about! That, and I don't want my long-winded reply to take up half the chapter... xD. Anyway, thanks, and I'll be sure to reply ASAP! Looking forward to your next long review!**

**bris38: XD. Thought that would be a good comedy tidbit. Atlas sure does like his music.**

**silverwolvesarecool: Thanks! Leo is sure an awkward dude... But at least he has a super-hot girlfriend to back him up. As for Atlas being good... Expect some backstory on him sometime! It should be interesting. Anyway, thanks!**

**perseus d jackson: Thank you very much! I'm glad that people are enjoying this tale that I am weaving! Enjoy this chapter, and thanks again!**

**Court0624: You'll see quite soon. ;). Thanks for the review, and enjoy this chapter!**

**So, without further ado...**

* * *

**XLVIX: Will**

**Before a fireball crashed through his cabin, Will Solace's day was going dandy.**

There he was, walking along the common green of Omega One, the first Omega sector of all the cabins in Camp Half-Blood, when random projectiles decided to launch itself in his direction.

"WHOA!" Will screamed, leaping away just in time for a large projectile to whirl over his forehead.

"Everybody clear!" screamed the voice of Kayla, as Will saw her sprinting out of the Apollo cabin- all his dozens of siblings also in tow.

Will could only watch on with wide eyes as the manmade comet blasted through the Apollo cabin, incinerating it into nothing but ashes.

_BANG!_

Black soot and ashes were now in place where the Apollo cabin once stood. The entire structure was totally gone- smoking and steaming in the afternoon sun, courtesy of Apollo himself. Fires burned on the horizon, spreading throughout the entirety of all the Omega sectors- the names of the cabin arrangements, which were conveniently arranged in omega formations.

"Holy Apollo... what the heck?" Will stammered.

Will thought that it was supposed to be a normal, ordinary day. Apparently, it wasn't, since some catapults decided to launch some projectiles out of the city of New Athens on the horizon, and every single person in the area was panicking and screaming. Not only that, but sooty ash and dust was snowing down overhead, caking Will with dirty germs and making his inner medical OCD go off the radar.

Will observed all of his siblings sprinting off in all directions, some of them either heading to the infirmary- the others to the armory.

Will mentally thanked his dad, Apollo, for giving his siblings some brains. Some of them tended to run around like headless chickens every time the world was ending, which, thankfully, only happened twice in the last three years or so.

Cries of _Oh shoot! What the Hades? _and _Screw this! _were tossed all over the place as Will saw a nearby phalanx form up into a standard thirty-warrior stance, deploying shields in the usual front-flank formation. From the looks of it, mostly children of Ares and Athena composed the phalanx- and said formation started bolting off to Hades knows where.

"Will! What the Hades is going on?" Kayla, exclaimed, sauntering over as everyone ran away screaming.

Will observed his half-sister pacing around frantically, trying to make sense of the situation. Kayla's t-shirt was coated with sooty ashes, her _APOLLO IS AWESOME _bracelet was torn around her wrist_,_ and her distinct blond hair was caked with ash- something Will guessed was happening to his own beautiful hair.

"Peace! I just wanted peace for one day, Kayla! You tell me what's going on here!" Will retorted, running a hand through his golden hair, which was now a dirty shade of gray-slash-black.

Just _great,_ Will thought.

If this was karma's way of payback against healing Rachel this morning, then Will was ready to go up and smack the Fates themselves. Sure, keeping the oracle asleep while she was passed out from that weird voodoo-possession thing this morning wasn't the best idea, but Will really didn't see any other option. Rachel couldn't keep herself stable alone, with the random hijackings that took over her body nowadays.

"You dolt! Don't you see our cabin mates gearing up for battle? Heck, we have wounded coming in! Not only that, but we just conveniently happened to see a monster army marching over the hill from our windows!" Kayla yelled, gesturing to the nearby strawberry fields.

Will squinted towards the direction Kayla was pointing towards, and his heart sank.

Over the horizon marched a full monster army. Cyclopes, _dracanae_, automatons, centaurs, two-headed dog-men... everything. They all flooded through the outskirts of New Athens, bolting for the middle of Camp Half-Blood itself via the strawberry fields, the source of an ensuing battle. Turrets could be heard in the distance, but it was useless, since Will remembered Annabeth mentioning that she only designed the counter-defense system for New Athens to extend outwards, not inwards toward Camp Half-Blood itself, since it was _supposed_ to be unnecessary.

Demigods screamed. Turrets fired. Phalanx formations sprinted towards the strawberry fields, toward a battle that Will could see growing in size as each second passed. Even one of the Roman cohorts double-timed their speed, as monster after monster poured out of nowhere, all streamlining towards the common green of the camp; one lone body of troops were valiantly stopping the monster army from overrunning the camp entirely.

Four Roman cohorts were arrayed in _tetsubo_ formation at the edge of the strawberry fields, preventing the army of monsters from completely spilling into the cabins of Camp Half-Blood itself. And by the looks of it, Will had to guess that the cohorts were _not_ doing well. Two of them were splintered off in the middle, mingling around in the chaotic cacophony of monsters.

For once, Will wondered where their praetor, Reyna, was.

"All that's been pouring in for the last five minutes! I-I don't even know how that's possible!" Kayla stammered, making Will tear away from the massive battle that was seriously giving him a _monster_-sized headache, excusing the pun.

"Ughhh. But everything... The magic around the camp... The Mist... All our defenses... Our sentries... How the heck did anyone not conveniently notice an incoming army of cannibalized monsters who want to eat us for breakfast? No, wait... Scratch that- how did they even get in here in the first place?!" Will babbled, feeling his blood kick into overdrive, thanks to the panicked screaming ringing around him.

"Get a hold of yourself, Solace! You aren't our cabin leader for nothing!" Kayla retorted, as Will felt the daughter of Apollo slap him across the left cheek. "Hold it and give us directions, _o_ wise leader!"

As Will clutched his cheek and opened his mouth, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he turned to see an array of three flaming balls of fire- all pickup-truck sized, whirling over his forehead and crashing into the rest of the main cabins.

_BOOM!_

Will felt heat sear his neck as he pushed Kayla down to the ground- throwing himself on top of her. He barely made it down as a flash of bright orange illuminated his vision, making his heart crush as a horrible sight laid itself before his eyes.

The entire Omega One sector was now burning down, which made Will's blood boil. This was the _original_ sector of cabins all these years ago... when there were only twelve. The grass coiled ashes of dust to the sky, which Will was sure would make the children of Demeter furious. The Ares cabin was now being cindered to ashes, and the inferno raged to the left half of the green, consuming the Poseidon, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Zeus cabins.

As chaos reigned, Will couldn't help but worry over Nico. The Ghost King was nowhere to be found, and Will swore that if Nico was overloading himself again, he would strap the son of Hades to a hospital bed for a full week and force-feed him that Italian soup he liked.

Not that I know what he likes_... heh,_ Will thought.

"WILL! WILL!" Kayla exclaimed, snapping Will out of his thoughts. "Get off of me!"

"Wha? O-oh... Sorry," Will stuttered, rolling off of his half-sister. "You know how I get in doctor mode. Sorry, sis."

Kayla rolled her eyes, struggling up from the ground. "Looks like Hades out there. I hope everyone made it out okay, though..."

Will couldn't help but agree. He really hoped that there wasn't anyone left in the other Omega One cabins; but then again, there weren't too many new kids of the Olympians over the last two years- the other densely-filled sectors were the bigger concern.

"RUN AWAY!" screamed a voice, as Will's attention snapped to a stumbling male demigod. "THEY'RE ALL COMING! HE'S COMING!"

Will could feel himself and Kayla stare on in confusion at the weird demigod who wanted to reenact doomsday. It appeared that the guy was running from the direction of New Athens, sprinting towards the lake for some apparent reason.

_SPLOOSH!_

Will's mental prediction came true as the demigod threw himself in the lake out of pure terror.

"Oooookaay... Weird dude," Kayla said. "There can't be anything worse than the army we have behind us, right?"

"Yeah. Besides, it's not like there's a psychotic giant hunting us all down or something. That's totally ridiculous, even by our standards," Will chuckled, yet feeling uneasily worried at the same time.

Will felt a familiar gnawing sensation crawl its way into his stomach, his doctor senses going off like a bat with extra-strong radar backed up by a double-shot of espresso, which was incredibly unhealthy by medical standards. Will was ready to knock out anyone in the camp who _dared_ to sip another cup of espresso, except Nico, of course.

"Okay... So, bro, whatcha need me to do?" Kayla asked, making Will snap back into reality from his Nico-induced state. "In case you hadn't noticed, we still got a huge-Apollo battle happening behind us."

Will's mind immediately snapped to doctor-slash-warrior mode. "Right, Kayla, take our cabin's best archers. Set up top behind the wood cover and snap in shots when you can. I'll head to the infirmary- there _has_ to be incoming wounded."

Kayla nodded and sprinted off without any other word, leaving Will alone in the middle of chaos.

Will gritted his teeth, preparing to run off to the infirmary. Battles weren't really too much of his forte, barring that whole fight-against-the-Romans two years ago. Besides, Will knew that he was a better doctor, a healer, than a warrior. And right now, it looked like that his healing skills would be needed, since he spotted several injured demigods already crawling to the local infirmary nearby.

_SKREEET!_

Will's attention snapped to another volley of catapult ammunition streaking its entrails across the afternoon sky- all of them missing completely and hurtling into the lake, a muffled _boom _rippling across the ground, and bubbles popping up to the lake surface.

Will had two things on his mind. One, he really hoped that the dude who jumped in the lake was going to be okay. Two, he wondered how the heck a battery of catapults, plus an army of monsters, even managed to burst into a heavily-defended area full of people with godly descent.

Just then, Will noticed a familiar streak blur by his vision in the form of a recognizable demi-primordial.

Will could recognize Evelyn Jenger, child of Nyx, running towards the battle ensuing near the strawberry fields with a crazed look on her face. The demi-primordial was also caked with soot, but it didn't do anything much to her clothes, which were all black. Black t-shirt... Black short-shorts... Black bangles. Basically, the girl was pulling a Nico, something that Will was wholeheartedly familiar with.

"Evelyn! Just what do you think you're doing?!" Will exclaimed.

The child of Nyx stopped in her tracks. "What does it look like I'm doing, Solace?! I'm helping out!"

"Not with those powers of yours!" Will scolded. "I don't want ANOTHER Nico on my hands, so no darkness-creepy stuff, okay?!"

"Shut up, Solace!"

"You shut it! Doctors orders... come on Evelyn! Even you haven't mastered your gifts yet!" Will retorted, feeling exasperated.

Evelyn's gifts were insanely powerful, which made Will concerned for her health. She was practically on Percy's level in terms of powers, since she could basically manipulate any sort of darkness to do her bidding. The seventeen-year old could instantly appear anywhere with darkness, control the _stars_ themselves to an extent, and form darkness at her own will. Unfortunately, the whole thing came with side effects, since the intensity of the power made her pass out for a full week if she used them too strongly or too much.

"Oh yeah? How is it any different with Nico, then? Huh?!" Evelyn shot back, growing irritated.

Will blushed. "Those are two totally different things!"

"Yeah, right," snorted the daughter of Nyx, "and I'm Gaea. Seriously, the entire camp knows you have a thing for Nico! Don't deny your true feelings!"

"This isn't Frozen, Jenger!"

"Hah! You're in denial! Somebody's coming out alive with fifty drachmas by the end of the day!" Evelyn crowed, shooting off towards the fray of battle, leaving Will speechless.

Will could only stutter with wide-open eyes. Did everyone really know about the whole thing with Nico?

Will knew he had a thing for the Ghost King, but after two years, he couldn't even muster the courage to _actually_ ask Nico out- though, lecturing him about his personal health issues was a much easier thing. Seriously, the son of Hades made it a personal task to _completely_ ignore anything relating to his own health, something that really made Will irritated.

What made him even more irritated, however, was Nico's reluctance to share his feelings. Over two years, Will had gotten Nico's entire life story, but he wanted to know _more_. How did Nico feel every day? Will wanted to become _more_ to the Ghost King, which he had to admit, was a cool title. And sure, Will felt close to Nico, but he couldn't get _enough_ of what was going inside his head. How did he feel? How did he feel towards Will himself?

Will had his own insecurities too. For years, he had been trying to wrestle with the fact that he wasn't straight- his growing attraction toward the Ghost King had proved that much. Nico's black was a contrast to his light- something that made him intensely curious over just _what _the Ghost King was.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

Will blinked his eyes, trying to take in the scene. Everything was moving in slow-motion, making him feel sluggish and tired. He had to get to the infirmary... He had to. There were wounded to care for... Wounded to save.

"RAHHHH!" bellowed a cacophony of voices, making Will raise his eyebrows and turn his head towards the source of the commotion.

The monster army was now really making a riot near the strawberry fields, making several of the defending Roman cohorts stumble and trip over themselves. The din of battle reached Will's ears as the cohorts desperately tried to keep their shields locked in defensive formation, as monster after monster pounded away at the Romans' shield wall.

Will could see several of Camp Half-Blood's phalanxes march in a oval formation, deploying their spearhead warriors in front, double-timing to relieve the beleaguered Roman cohorts at the crest of the strawberry fields. Even now, the amount of teamwork that both Romans and Greek exhibited impressed Will, reminding him of that fateful day two years ago during a similar battle like this here in camp.

Now, it was basically Doomsday Battle: Take Two.

Why the strawberry fields were the heart of the battle, Will didn't know. He didn't know why all the magic around the camp and New Athens borders failed to keep the monsters out either.

_GGREEEEEEEEEEACKKK!_

A groaning tremor rippled across the ground, making Will's footing stumble. He momentarily looked up for a second, trying to regain his sense of balance- disrupted by the initial earthquake.

What Will saw next made him blink his eyes in fear of having some sort of eye disease.

Above him, the sky was _literally_ cracking. As in literally, Will was pretty sure that the cracks on the plains of the Sahara Desert couldn't compare to this.

Black streaks of cracks were etching its way across the sky- mixed in with white shades of hue, something that Will could recognize as the color of the Mist. Together, both colors spangled across the sky, almost as if it were being a jigsaw puzzle in the process of being ripped apart. Sparks of distinct magic fizzed from the vast confines of the cracked sky, making it groan and heave in some sort of strange way.

Will looked back down, rubbing his eyes and hoping for _some_ sort of good news.

For once, something _good_ actually happened as Will spotted a familiar figure sprinting down a hill- running towards the combined fighting forces of Camp Half-Blood and parts of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata.

**~~~~~0~0~~~~~**

"ROMANS! _ORBEM FORMATE_! ARCHER SUPPORT IN THE FLANK!" Reyna boomed, sprinting down the hill- wearing her ordinary, everyday clothes.

Next to the praetor, Will spotted some sort of Roman messenger huffing and puffing, almost as if he wasn't used to keeping up with the praetor herself. The both of them had crazed looks on their faces, almost as if they escaped something horrible.

Will breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know Reyna well, but he was convinced that the praetor was just the kind of leadership that everyone needed right now, since Percy and Annabeth were nowhere to be seen.

The monster army erupted into a roar of outrage, making Will clutch his ears. Hellhounds howled. Cyclopes bellowed. _Dracanae_ hissed cries of laced charmspeak- glazing the eyes of several campers. The angry army was obviously not anticipating Reyna coming, almost as if they _expected _her to be occupied by something else.

As soon as Reyna reached her cohorts, Will could feel the difference in the tide of battle. The wavering cohorts began to rally, tightening themselves into the ordered _orbem formate_. Several Roman archer divisions fanned out behind the bulk of the cohorts, deploying their bows and firing flame arrows into the ranks of the monsters.

Just as the arrow volley occurred, Will spied several of his Apollo cabin members emerge out of the treeline by the strawberry fields- a safe distance away from the incoming monsters, stringing up their golden bows and firing arrows as well, glinting in the harsh afternoon sun.

_WEEEEET!_

A loud whistling sound rang across the afternoon sky, giving Will the chills. It was a _good_ chill, though, as dozens upon dozens of arrows rained down upon the monster army, causing cries of pain and whooshing sounds of immediate vaporization, immediately sending them back to Tartarus.

Will didn't know how many monsters there were, but nearly one-fourth of them were immediately disintegrated by the combined forces of the arrows and the determined might of the four Roman cohorts, part of another, and the majority of Camp Half-Blood's phalanxes.

"NOW! REFORM INTO _TETSUBO FORMATION_! ADVANCE!" Reyna's voice hollered, as Will stood on and stared in awe as Reyna's cohorts melded into one indestructible killing machine, plowing and ripping apart every single monster- the forces of Camp Half-Blood marching on the flanks in support.

Will could feel himself breathe- it was time to _finally_ run in the infirmary and start treating the obvious wounded from the battle. Even though Will knew that he saw _very_ little of what was actually occurring right now, he knew that serious stuff was happening.

The only thing left that Will was primarily concerned about were the catapults- he didn't know whether they were going to fire again and cause trouble.

_KRAKKKK!_

Even from afar, Will could see several HUGE geysers of water sprout up from New Athens in the distance- said annoying catapults _riding_ on top of those geysers.

_Percy,_ Will thought. _That idiot._

If the son of Poseidon was exerting himself again, Will swore that he was going to slap him all the way to the infirmary. At least Percy managed to find and disable the catapults, which was good.

Unfortunately, Will's montage and the impending sense of victory was interrupted by the form of a giant with mechanical eyes crashing onto the battlefield.

* * *

**Indeedy... Remember, Will can only hear and see so much! That's why the POV switches are incredibly constant, since battles are experienced by many people, and their perceptions of it can differ. **


	50. Apologies & Update

Hey all! Here's a quick update to let you all know what's going on- this story is NOT dead. Rather, I have completely overhauled and started up a rewrite of the Unity Series. I would explain all that's going on, but you guys can head on over here and read what I have to say:

s/11547732/1/The-Ascension-Series-Book-One-Rising-Dawn

See you guys over there! Thank you!


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